Hunter or the hunted?
SYEDA FARIDA
|
Participate in any contest just for sheer fun.
|
PHOTO: AP
JUST FOR JOY: Participate in a talent contest.
First there was a spate of talent hunts by various television channels in the country, including a few for children as well, scouting for singers, actors and more. And then there was the recent American Idol beamed into the Indian homes taking the aspiration, to be the next Idol, to a higher level.
Today as if peer pressure, school bullies, academic performance and entrance tests to engineering and medical colleges were not enough, television talent hunts, local contests such as Master and Miss XYZ, modelling and rest of the events that promise the "ek minute stairway to fame" have arrived adding to the growing up woes.
Be yourself
Vox populi says that being average is not okay. It is imperative to be a class topper. You need to participate in talent shows and contests successfully, you are told. Translated, it has to be the No.1 position. What happens when you don't get there? Hell freezes over? You get the wrath of friends and you ought to feel that you have not lived up to their expectations? Not really. Or should you feel guilty for letting down folks at home? Not at all.
Much like the unique selling propositions that come with products, there is an inherent talent and set of characteristics that are unique to an individual. Maybe you are practising music or a sport and you know you play well. Maybe you have saved that little squirrel that fell off its nest in the tree or were kind to a hurt bird. Maybe you shared your set of old textbooks with a needy student. Well, the list ought to be endless if you sit to make one. You don't need that limelight and podium to prove it to people and to bog you down with the "what if I lose" stress, do you? You are No.1, despite not knowing the encyclopaedia by heart or not being that whiz kid. You are a winner because you are just being you. So, do what makes you happy. It will fetch you more laurels than that forced participation in a competition.
Another talent hunt? Participate for fun giving it your best shot.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
