Fifteen minutes of fame

D5T1: An Open Book

The prompt for this round is to write prose on one of the three given topics. I have chosen the one in the title.

An Open Book

To be able to soliloquise on a topic such as this, I have to look deep inside my heart. I can see one book which, in my case, is always open. It is the book of MY LIFE.Thus, an apt subtitle for this essay would be "The Story of My Life".

How one wishes that one keeps secrets and live one's life privately, away from the prying curiosities of family, friends, relatives and one's social circle ... but none of this for me! I have always felt that the more one lives an open, uncluttered life, the more one can enjoy the fruit of happiness that comes from Truth, Simplicity and Contentment.

Throughout my childhood, I was a simple person who almost always lived in near-poverty as my parents had little means to give me the comforts that others take for granted. I was educated through scholarships, with borrowed uniforms and borrowed books; at the altar of Knowledge, I often arrived sick, with coughs, breathing problems, diarrhoea or other weaknesses that I cannot even remember. My teachers were extremely supportive, though, and helped me throughout my school career. I will never forget them. They belonged to a time that does not even exist today ... a world of meaning supplanted by a world of commerce. The Gods of Kindness, Virtue and Honesty abdicated their thrones long ago, and these were, in short shrift, replaced by the Knaves of Practicality, Greed, Dishonesty and Corruption.

Be that as it may, I have, through my school years, studied honestly and doggedly. Not for me the expensive habits of splurging money on a shopping spree, going out on picnics with friends, buying new and trendy clothes and shoes and so on. My mind was only on the twin tasks of studying and being a thrifty child whose parents would one day be proud of him.

Such phenomena play a decisive role in defining the shape one's life is going to take; in my case, there were a few others that helped me be the open person that I am: although shy and introvert in my character, I was usually the fall guy in school as well as the early years of college. It is only in the medical college that I shed my earlier characteristics and transformed into an out and out friendly, extroverted individual. But my focus remained my ambition of becoming a very, very bright and exceptional medical student. Eventually, I stood third in my final year in the entire university! I had finally made my parents proud!

Imagine then, my disbelief when, four years later, in my final examinations for my qualification as a Pediatrician, I flunked! I must pat myself on the back for one thing: I did not cry or lose my composure, though my mom did. When I finally cleared the exam, I looked back at the wasted months and told myself: at least now I am better read than my class friends who maxed the subject on the very first attempt.

I fell in love with a nurse from my own Pediatric ward, and went out with her for almost three years before finally proposing to her. We married way back in 1990 and are today proud parents of two vivacious, naughty and intelligent daughters.

A live well-lived? Perhaps, yes, but it isn't over yet. A lot of life's goals are yet to be realised. And I will need all the prayers that will come my way ... from everyone, including those who read this item ... so that my open book ... er, my Life will become polished and free from clutter.

Dr Taher writes again!

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Judge Earl's comment: D5T1 - Being so open of my life to my wife, friends, and associates is not an easy for me to do. I admire your courage during your hard school days and for the examination you took. With the help of my wife, I am learning to be an open book. This task is indeed an inspiration. The events of life are narrated sequentially. You sustain the emotions.
Earl

"Honey-licking murderer" 
"With A Cherry On The Top" 



Read:Joy Heartland