‘I love my parents so much that I will do whatever they want me to do’

‘I love my parents so much that I will do whatever they want me to do.’

This is by far one of the hilariously hyperemotional, magnanimously melodramatic, inarguably illogical lines I have ever heard.

At individual level, parents are like any other people—They have flaws. They make mistakes. Their knowledge is limited. They get complacement and stop updating with time. They cannot just be right about everything and everyone. And they are very, very, very ordinary humans just like you and a billion other people.

In such case, you can’t just blindly toe the lines drawn by them. Argue, discuss, explain, convince them or get convinced just like how you do with your peers when you are not comfortable doing what they tell you.

In many places, respect is often confused with fear and slavery. You can still have respect for your parents without being scared or being a slave to their opinions. You don’t have to follow everything they say and suffer your life thinking that you owe respect to them, as you are one who is going to face the maximum brunt or live longer with that decision for nodding without thinking.

Replace parents with boss in the first line and you’d be called robotic. Replace parents with your partner and you’d be told that you are in a controlling and toxic relationship. Or replace that with friends, you would be considered dumb.

It should be the same with parents. The reason why you don’t feel that is because you are conditioned and manupalted to see your parents as demigods.

A parent feeling that ‘My child will do what I say. He never argues with me.’

or

A child thinking that ‘My parents know what is best for me. They are always right’

are both examples of failed parenting, simple because it produced an individual who is not capable of taking his own decisions and standing up for what he believes in.

-Srinath Nalluri

How Much To Sleep ?

 It all depends on you, how much rest your mind and body demands. You can actually sleep for nine hours but what is most important is how you are utilising the time when you are studying.

If you are studying for say eight hours a day, make it the most effective time. If while studying you are thinking about Quora, Facebook, YouTube or how you can save the world from aliens or corona, if you are using phone every ten minutes, then that is a sheer waste of time. You are fooling yourself then. If you genuinely want to crack the exam then study to your maximum potential, with utmost dedication.

If you are tired, take a break. Maybe a power nap or a walk in the garden/roof or listening to something motivational or a song, that depends all on you how you will feel better and will get energy to go back to studies.

But please don't do this thing that first you start using WhatsApp or something else, waste an hour or so on that and then end up being more tired. This will waste your day.

Your rest time for such activities should be defined. Control your mind else regret is the worst feeling ever. Time won't come back . So decide well and study as per your potential and schedule you make.

If you can study only for one hour a day initially, no issues. Be sincere with that. Slowly your sitting capacity will improve automatically.

Eat well and healthy. It is rightly said that “ A healthy mind resides inside a healthy body”

Coming to me, I had no specific sleep patterns. But when I felt tired, I used to lie down for twenty minutes or took a power nap. Only thing I took seriously was that when I am studying, I am studying. It is initially difficult to control mind, but eventually as your ambition becomes more important than any other thing, you will be able to do it.

Just try every single day to reach your true potential, which actually is infinite.

All the best.

-Shuchita Arora UPSC-ESE (AIR-16)

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