I am aghast at the way everyone is now targeting engineering to be the reason why they lost the essence of life. I ask, ‘Where you that dumb at 17 that you didn’t know your career choice?

Well, if you were what is the guarantee you ain’t that dumb now.’ Everyone feels engineering or medicine ruins life, there is no fun and no games, no life. Pick any average Indian college and I am sure every college has its own fair share of events and teaching.

College is not just about bunking classes and hanging out. On Social Media/ Messenger services I found a message circulated: “Enjoy life while you are young because at the end of life, it is the memories of happy time spent with friends and not lectures that bring a smile to you.” Very Touching.

Don’t study and freak around whole day then may be you will have to smile your whole life anyway because you won’t get a job better than a clown’s. (Mind you, I believe in equal dignity in all jobs. But definitely, you never wanted to be a clown)

People who write thoughts and sayings have probably achieved all that they ever wanted to. What they are writing or sending out signals is from a safe zone. They might not even want the millions they are raking in and even in death they are going to make money.

An average teenager possibly needs to understand that life has to be made, structured from the start. Do it with a smile or without smile is your choice but making a living is necessary. If you wanted to be an author, a painter or an actor, you should have mustered enough courage back when you were 17 and before your parents went and made a dead investment in you of lacs of hard-earned big bucks.

You would be doing what you always wanted to, be successful and happy.

A word of caution for parents – your children are not fine tuned to take appropriate decisions for themselves and neither are they very good speakers of their own feelings. You might have to sit with them and ask what they want to do and become. You see, there becomes an apparent double tie. There might be seriously want-to-be engineers and doctors who do understand the seriousness of the field and want to study from the very institute in which your child hit the jackpot. You save a seat for a poor bloke who can tomorrow help you in return unknowingly.

Learn first not to curse education; though you feel it ruined your dreams, somewhere it is fulfilling your tummy and making your wallet thick. Not many are lucky that way. When that wallet gets thick and you have enough gumption to complete your dreams you can fulfill – but at least be thankful to the Engineering you did unwantedly.

Else the second option is… forever be truly and madly chase your dreams so much that your surroundings don’t bother to mess with you. Now, is it that hard? Really?