As we are facing a huge pandemic today, I believe it’s important we all take a minute to just think about how essential it is to have hope and the best way to remember this is by a short story that most of us might have read but would have forgotten.
Once upon a time, in a town far away a gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains. All that was holding them back from escaping the camp, was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs. As the man gazed upon the elephants, he was completely confused as to why the elephants didn’t just use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They could easily have done so, but instead, they didn’t try to at all. Curious to know, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants were just standing there and not trying to escape. The trainer replied, “When they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man then realized that the only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping was that over time they had lost hope.
Most of us students today are in a similar situation. We are facing a crisis and with so much uncertainty around us, it is quite normal to lose hope and start believing that nothing is possible any longer. But for all those aspiring students, I just want to remind you all about one thing. As we enter into a world where we all are going to have to choose a career and start thinking about our financial security, I want you all to remember that no matter what you end up doing — You all are going to be perfectly fine. It all must seem so hard now but we must make a promise to ourselves, a promise to never forget our dreams. A promise of looking for the rainbow amidst the storm. And a promise of never losing our individuality between all the exams, projects and stressful days that is yet to come.
Nothing worth having comes easy after all a diamond is formed only after Carbon is compressed under high pressure. With that thought, I shall end this story and hope that along with me — you all are ready to open a new chapter of your lives!
-Shwetha S
