So, a couple
of months ago I was talking to one of my friends about my time in the US and I
had some honest views about it. I was laughed at(not the bad one, a good laugh J) and told to write about it,
After some
persuasion I promised that I would do so after my trip to India. So here it is,
“Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really
quite lucky”
I
am going to do something unusual about this. I would first like to talk about
the guys who have not chosen to go to the You-Yess(Yes, that is how I pronounce
it). Kudos to you guys, you are the ones who didn't take the easier way out and
please, don’t be disheartened by the applause and the number of likes a “Got my
Visa” status usually receives. And stop listening to those aunties and uncles
who pester you with comparisons to one of your cousins or friends who are
studying or working abroad. These people are most likely good-for-nothing chaps
themselves who like to take out the failures of their lifelong bitterness on
you.
Read
the above quote by Dr. Suess again and realize how lucky you are to be with
your family and friends. If that’s not something to smile about then I don’t
know what is.
“Hope is a good thing. maybe the best of good things.
and no good thing ever dies”
I've always been fascinated with this quote from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’(One of
the best movies I’ve ever seen)
To
those who will begin your journey to the you-yess in a few days, all I can say
is, despite all of your inquiries with friends who've been there; I can promise
you that you will have a unique experience for sure. What I cannot guarantee is
that whether your initial experiences will be good or bad. Mine were
exceedingly good so I am inclined to think that that is usually the case, but I’m
told that the opposite does happen quite often too.
“When people are
free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.”
I
was having a discussion with a Chinese friend about the number of people from
each of our countries in the US when he made this comment, “There are lots of
us, but with the number of guys you have in the cities of Texas and New York you
could make up new cities all by yourselves”. He didn't of course use the exact
same words (trust me their English sucks).
Anyway
this got me thinking as to why do we go to the you-yess anyway.
I
could think of two most common reasons.
1)
Fun and 2) Money.
Those
who already have the 2nd part do so in order to do attain the 1st
part.
In
either case we only make the journey upon suggestions from our previous
generations who have been there and who blab about the ‘Great American Dream’
and the culture, the wonders etc. That might just be the reason why this dream
will end soon.
People
are sheep. There’s no point in denying it. Me, you and all of us are sheep who
like to live in herds.
In
the past, to earn the money needed to make it worth it, all you had to do was
go to a ‘Good’ University and pass out with some ‘Good’ marks. With the
exponential increase in our fellow country-men and the fact that not all jobs
in the you-yess are for non-citizens, that bar has gone up. Now, just ‘Good’ doesn't seem to be enough and most realize this only when its too late.
For
those of you who are not motivated by either of the above two reasons and are
leaving your home country just to make use of the excellent teaching facilities
over there. Thank you for your existence. Without you the world would be a
shallow and bitter place to live in. Good luck to you.
One
thing I have learned after spending a year and returning back to India is that
the people, the warmth, the love and affection in our home country is very
unique and can’t be replicated. I will miss it after this vacation is done.
Well
to those of you who've liked this blog. I’m glad I could strike a chord.
To
those of you who haven’t, well blogs are just suggestions and like Homer
Simpson said, suggestions are like pants, they can always be ignored.
