R-5 On, A Monologue

On, Graduation

The day was not normal. It had an air of revelation. And, Kushagra was ready.

Today was the day of their Graduation. The confident, best boy, college president, and favourite Kushagra Dhiman was picked to be the class speaker. It was not shocking to anyone.

The shock was the speech he was about to give.

On the podium, with everyone’s attention, he was breathing fine. The eyes on him, only made him more confident, and so he began.

“Greetings, fellow Batchmates! We’re here.

“All, hopeful of the next phase of our lives hoping to do nothing short of greatness.

“All, looking forward to an exciting life, that this time, we will solely control.

“But, before we go out there, I just wanted to stand here and remind you of the purpose of life, One. Last. Time. So that, you don’t get to blame society, The gods, or the authorities, for not giving you One. Last. Sign.

“Whatever you’ve chosen to become, I hope it’s what you actually want to be. For the Rest of your life. The whole.

“Because I know I haven’t. Not unlike many others here. I know.

Whatever we have actually Chosen is based on fear disguised as Practicality.

“I mean look at us, I refuse to believe that literally all of us, actually wanted to be an Engineer. More than half of us didn’t. Our actual dream was not this.

The Capital injects the morphine of Hope as collateral for Dreams. Capitalism takes them away, as we grow up and Money replaces what we strive for with the false promise of it being worth it.

“No matter what we all have in store for our future, the most important thing we all need is Stability. The insurance of safety. And that is why more than half of us went through these 4 years of turmoil and pain, (except a select few of you who actually did want an Engineer’s degree.)

“So, today on our Graduation, I want to congratulate you, Dear Warrior. To complete this.

“And for the ones, like me, who did this for any reason other than this being their dream, I want to say, now is your turn. Play for your own team.

“Because, as I said before, the promise of money being worth the stake of losing the dream you actually have is fake.
You have proved yourself, you became an Engineer. So, now you don’t owe anyone, anything. You have chased their dream, but you don’t have to nourish it for the rest of your life too. Now, you can bat one for yourself.

Do not assume that, it’s too late for your turn, or that what you really want is impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect. Please, dare to ask the Universe for it. And don’t think about Failure. Because, You can always fail at what you don’t want to do, too. So you might as well take a chance at doing what you love.

“When you walk out of the University today, I don’t want you to become invisible because of your need for acceptance. I don’t want you to loathe all these years or these decisions. I don’t want you to Regret Anything. I Don’t.

“I WANT, that when you walk out the door today, you dare to go for that dream, you so unexpectedly, unknowingly pushed down for ‘stability’, or ‘society’.

“I WANT you to know that you’re free.

“I WANT that years later, you do not hesitate to look anyone in the eye and say that you chose to be an engineer, a painter, a musician, a dancer, a writer, or anything else that you truly passionately, heartily wanted to be.

“I WANT, for you to be happy. So, be what you ought to be. And if you don’t know that yet, explore. 

“I’m rooting for you and right there beside you finding myself too. 

“Thank You!”

*Thunderous applause, follows, as Kushagra, stands there, with literally dead silence in his ears. Feeling free because he’s finally accepted his mind. A giant weight lifts off. And he feels Immortal.

Just then the claps weigh in too, and he still stands, this time in awe of this class he’s been so lucky to be a part of. This group of marvellous potential and the means to change the world for the better. 

Until, the next Hurdle.