Through my eyes - by Shubhali Salunkhe

You look in the mirror and see yourself. You take pictures and see yourself in those images. You walk on the sidewalk and see your reflection on the glass walls along the way. But its not you at all. Sure, you see those brown eyes, and your pointy nose, and your lips curling into a little smile at times, but that's not all of you. When you look into the mirror, you don't see all the lives that you have touched, and all the people you've changed by your presence. You are not seeing all those people who you have shared your laughter with, and you are not seeing all those people whom you had those 4 A.M. conversations with. When you look at the mirror, sure you see those stretch marks and the scar you got when you fell off from your bike for the first time. But you don't see how strong you've been all this while. All the battles that you've won, all the pain you've endured, all the rains you've walked in - are totally hidden. You cannot see the kindne...

Why always win? But why ever lose? Does losing make you a failure? Is winning any bad then? I wished my brother luck and gently brushed his hair as he left for his Engineering BITS Entrance Test. As I saw him disappear across the lane I prayed wishfully for him to clear it since I'd seen him burning the midnight oil each time I was home. He has always been a bright kid, each time making us glisten our bellies and beam with pride! He had done exemplarily well previously in his CET and could smoothly slip into a College of his choice. But was he contented with that? Let alone contented, was he even close to happy? No. He was a sore loser. But that's what made him a desperate winner. He wanted to get admitted into a Premier Institute which he believed could get him in a better place. He successfully cleared his BITS Entrance with a mega-margin (being an online exam the scores are available on a click) and was left assured that his efforts for the past two years w...