Last evening I got a call from an old friend, after talking for a couple of minutes he asked me what was wrong, what is the reason I sound so tensed.
I said "I have taken part in Write Tribe: Festival of words and tomorrow's prompt is to share a personal experience that will inspire".
"So are you confused which story to pick?", he said with a mocking laughter.
Being defensive in nature, I just changed the subject to an irrelevant topic.The call ended after few minutes and I totally forgot about it, and so did he.(That's my assumption)
I woke up today and as my ritual, first thing I do is check my gmail. An unexpected email from the same friend...
This is the original email I received, as is, no changes made.
I said "I have taken part in Write Tribe: Festival of words and tomorrow's prompt is to share a personal experience that will inspire".
"So are you confused which story to pick?", he said with a mocking laughter.
Being defensive in nature, I just changed the subject to an irrelevant topic.The call ended after few minutes and I totally forgot about it, and so did he.(That's my assumption)
I woke up today and as my ritual, first thing I do is check my gmail. An unexpected email from the same friend...
This is the original email I received, as is, no changes made.
Hey Ananya .. I don't know what I have written... I didn't proof read it as that might bias my thoughts.. But what ever I have written is just a small part... hope this is something that you are looking for....
I have written it being as honest as I can.. That might be a bit beyond the life.. but just check.. hope you can write something nice out of this...
-- Suhas :)
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Year 2004... Summer.... Holidays after my 12th before the University admissions.... I met my friends after a long time
Me : Hey guys.. Guess what...?? The hot chick Anu is gonna be my classmate in my bachelors...
Friend 1: Classmate..?? Is she in your branch..??
Me : Yes..
Friend 2: Be careful dude... She is gonna kick your butt if you try something crazy....
Me : Guys... come on.. I was just trying to make you all Jealous... you are scaring hell out ofme.. Anyway.. I will be careful.....
Confused... You know..she was in my class but she never knew I existed, nobody notices the nerds except for the day results are announced.... After you see and observe some one for more than 2 years... you have an impression about that person.. So Anu was one such girl.. Beautiful.. Bold and confident... most of us had a real college crush on her... now in my bachelors.. she is gonna be my classmate.. "Friend..???? " Not sure... Rather not.. Let me stay away and be careful....
But destiny had its own things written for me.. On the very first meet I realized that what ever impression I have about this girl is just wrong... She is great.. She believes in people... Encourages to be friends... Values your positive attitude and hates you if try to be a jerk... So.. That's how began a life time of friendship....
Today I am here not to tell about how our friendship was built and how we became good friends.. Its about her qualities which inspired me directly or indirectly in becoming what I am today.. How Anu an inspiration..?? At this point you might be thinking that, we fell in love and now we are married and so on... "STOP YOUR THINKING"..... As I mentioned, she is a great friend..
I was a less confident person when it comes to conversing in English.. One day when I was trying to talk to Anu in my mother tongue, she stopped me and asked ... why don't you talk in English..?? I said, I am not good at it... I make mistakes... A lot of them.. This was the first time when she inspired me..Encouraged me.. She said.. "Listen.. If you do mistakes in front of me, its ok.. I won't mind.. Rather if I can correct you then, you will improve your skills and that will help you in your future... So don't hesitate.. Just speak...". Since then my communication skills kept on improving and I ended up in Lecturing as my first job...
As years went by, many such incidents and encouragements kept on coming and our friendship went on getting stronger.. During all these years... I realized why Anu is the way she is.. Her childhood was completely different .her problems were unheard ..
Every time if there is a situation, she was on her own... she made her own decisions. That made her stronger day by day.. Her childhood was like a compressed fuel in the engine... which exploded in her teenage..instead of accepting sympathy, she portrayed her life was perfectly normal... Thats what made her more confident, Courageous, bold and independent.... Her Judgement of making decisions was amazing... This part of her personality, inspired me in many situations of my life.. I dared to take steps which I couldn't have taken in my life..
Today I am in USA with a masters degree and a great job in hand...
Another great quality of her I liked was "love".. Love here doesn't mean Love of life partner... Love at work.. love with your life.. love with your friends.. Anu has a ton of friends.. She is extrovert... goes out and talks to people easily .. but shares her true feelings just with those few who respect her for what she is..She totally loves herself... This taught me how to be emotionally stable when things go wrong..how to smile even in pain..and much more.
With all these she had developed a personality which is really hard to resist.. For some she is an attractive person..for some she's just blunt, arrogant..some thought she's a snob.. but for me her personality is an inspiration...Her Courage : which was born from fear inside her... The fear which came from the society, responsibilities and no support. fear of losing control over emotions and feelings.. And many more... This Courage is stronger than a diamond, that can cut through any life situations ...
Many more things to Say... The one outstanding quality out of many she has ... is her COURAGE....
Linking this post to ABC WEDNESDAY
You are lucky to have such friends, i am overly jealous!
ReplyDeleteThis is different from others that I have been reading since morning.In the rest the writers narrate about how they were inspired by others,even ordinary people,toddler,grandpa etc.Here the author is the cause of inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteGood that Anu possessed a lot of courage, a balance head and ability to get along with others and inspire them.
Thanks KParthasarthi :))
DeleteThis is a different yet heartwarming idea for inspiration :) Thanks for sharing, Ananya.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Shailaja :))
DeleteVery different from all the other posts Ananya. May you remain friends forever :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaish.... Yes its a forever walla friendship :))
DeleteIt is said that instruction does much, but encouragement everything. Glad that Suhas had such an encouraging friend in Anu. And you are so lucky that your friend mails you the post of the day without you asking for it! (h)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shilpa, Yes I am lucky one here :)) not Suhas ...
DeleteThat was so nice! You really have a good friend there! The last line- This Courage is stronger than a diamond, that can cut through any life situations ... I just loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nibhz :))
DeleteThe first time I read the line "Courage is stronger than a diamond, that can cut through any life situations" ... I didn't quite understand what he meant.
After rereading the whole email again, it made more sense to me.
I read this slowly at first and somewhere in the middle I sensed it. Anu is soo much like me, I could almost picture her sitting their encouraging someone to talk in english and yes inside facing her own demons. Thank you so much by sharing her story, almost saw a mirror in the words...
ReplyDeleteRicha
Thanks Richa :))
DeleteIts a nice feeling, that we share something in common.
Suhas is lucky to have a friend like you , encouraging and motivating .
ReplyDeleteThanks Shilpa,
DeleteI feel am lucky one here :)) not Suhas ...
May we all be surrounded by such inspiring friends. Nice share, Ananya :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anita :))
DeleteShe inspires with her toughness and resilience; and you, with your patience.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michele :))
DeleteSuperb! (h) And this is really great tat your friend got inspiration from Anu and it helped him immensely. And bless you fro having such a friend who helps you without being asked :) (h)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kajal :))
DeleteThank u so much for ur blessings, I definitely need it.
Now, who wouldn't love and feel blessed to have a friend like Anu, pure heart and strong. I am in awe of Anu and it's a matter of being grateful to have such a friend who accept you, the way you are. I need this post coz I wanna hone the skills of smile and be emotional stable in the face of adversity. Love it, Ananya:)
ReplyDeleteAwww...Vishal Thanks :))
DeleteThanks on Suhas's behalf too.
Friend in need , is a friend indeed.. Well written and very different... (h)
ReplyDelete:)) Thanks Priyanka !
DeleteShe sounds like an outstanding friend. Heck, I have a crush on her!
ReplyDeleteROG, ABC Wednesday team
Roger ...
DeleteI dont know what to say :d
Good you have such inspiring qualities and the best the best part is you have such genuine friends.. :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a good read for me.
Thanks Indrani,
ReplyDeleteYes I agree , I feel blessed to have a friend like Suhas
:)
wow u r blessed wid one good frn :) n u r inspiring :) even u blog well !! :) i'm a newbie help plz ;) http://jrnywithprabhu.blogspot.in/
ReplyDeleteThanks Sachin... U asking help from wrong person...
DeleteI just started blogging few days back...so we both are in the same boat :)
Nice post Ananya, the mail was really inspiring. I can say those who met such type of people in their life will really correlate with the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alok!
Deletegood to know u have got such an inspiring qualities .. life always become's easy with such genuine friends around us :) ..
ReplyDeleteThanks Ankur :))
Delete