Random Talk : Of Validation and Appreciation...

Human beings are fickle creatures, and our wants change very frequently. Trust me I am a human being too and I am saying this from experience. But one thing I believe is constant for every one of us is the need for validation and appreciation. Two words, “Good Job”, make that much of a difference. Any compliment we get on something we do makes us feel great.

For a long time now, words have been my passion. I have been told that I am quite good at manipulating them to my will, making them form coherent sentences which convey what I want to say while remaining interesting. I have won a few short-story writing competitions, I have participated in a few debates and won many of them, and I have certificates which say that, yes, I am good with words.

But, in the real world, outside the life of a school kid, those certificates are just pieces of paper that say that I spent some time bunking class so that I can get on stage and speak about obscure stuff. They are pieces of paper that say I am better at making things up rather than mugging up and vomiting facts.

Unless it is a certificate which is issued by the government of Tamil Nadu or any other official source, they are just that, paper with pretty font. That is not to say that they don’t matter to me. They are a source of confidence. Just like every letter in every response I get from you lovely people of the world. It doesn’t matter if I know you or if I don’t, what matters is that your words are a source of inspiration and motivation.

That is why I want to share the fact that I have reached an amazing milestone today. You may be wondering why I was speaking about school certificates and validation. It is because, through you guys I have been able to spread my writing and they have reached one particular person who was willing to give me an official validation. Who was ready to officially acknowledge the fact, and in the process cement my belief, that maybe, just maybe, I can succeed in life with my passion.

The person I am talking about is the chief editor of the Chennai branch of “The Forecast Front”, a Delhi based magazine and website. I had the amazing opportunity through one of you, one of my readers who believed in me, to meet him in person and share some of the stuff I have written. He went through them over a course of a week and later got back to me saying that he liked what I have written. I met him in person and after some discussion about my college timings and class schedules I was presented with the opportunity to become a correspondent for the magazine.

I agreed to it almost immediately, and just yesterday, it became official. I am a member of the Press. I have an officially recognized press card from a New Delhi based publication, providing me an opportunity to learn the ropes as a journalist.

While this is a huge milestone in my life, I could not have achieved it without so many people behind me. I cannot thank them all here simply because this post will become too long. I will say this, they know who they are. But most importantly, I want to thank anybody who has spent time to read anything I have written. Just to see the view counter on my blog and website go up brings me a joy I cannot put into words.

I have a long road ahead and I am certain that it is not going to be an easy one. But this is just the beginning for me. This is just the first step and it has been one of the biggest. Thank you for being the special person who took time to read this eighteen year-old's, ramblings and helping me take the first step. I hope to share the rest of my journey with you special folks. Until next time,

Peace!!!