Author: Dishi Mehta, Class X C
This is a story reflecting a family’s transition into realising the strength of love, understanding and support rather than expecting. This is a story illustrating the process through which a troubled teenager discovers her own self.
This is the story of Anaya, a fourteen year old girl. Like most of us do at that age, Anaya imagined and dreamed of something way beyond limitations and boundaries. She didn’t want to hold back but wished to live fully and freely on her own terms. Her artistic self, which was hard to miss, burst out through rhythm, tones and music.
But these wishes, this very hard to ignore personality was unknowingly missed by her parents. They demanded a lot from her, expected a lot from her. However, this didn’t imply that they loved her any less, on the contrary they wanted the best for her. But they had a very different perception of that.
And there were many instances of this, pushing her into activities she did not enjoy, enrolling her in classes that drained her energy and setting goals that were impossible to reach.
Anaya was growing frustrated, not because she was rebellious or ungrateful but rather because she now started to feel suffocated and trapped under all that burden. She wanted to make her parents happy, but in this process, she started to succumb to an unpeaceful state of mind.
After a rather heated argument with her parents, Anaya went to the attic, she found solace there, and felt at peace. She wasn’t proving herself every moment there, trying to justify her dreams, she was away from the chaos.
There she found a dusty guitar and recognizing it from old pictures she realised it was her grandfather’s. Someone who didn’t regret the decisions he made and enjoyed every moment of his life.
She started strumming the guitar, at first she was unfamiliar with it, not able to pick up the tone. But she didn’t give up, because she felt a sense of comfort when she practised everyday, the rhythm started to intertwine with her feelings. These moments let her express all those unfulfilled dreams and unspoken desires. It helped her connect to a part of herself that was buried deep inside. And she only got better over time.
Her parents started to notice a change in her. She seemed distant but there was a sense of contentment in her demeanour. And they were also concerned because they did not know what she was doing in the attic for such long hours.
One afternoon they decided to follow her and find the truth. And they found her, and they found what they had missed. While she was so lost in creating the music she so loved they found the plea of their daughter, not for less responsibility but for the freedom to be herself and not to be judged by her own parents.
This was a time of realisation for them. They understood that while they were trying to put Anaya on a path of success which they had decided for her, they were also setting her on a path of unhappiness and not giving her an opportunity to discover her true identity.
It was understandably hard for them to let her go but it was essential to feel that pain for her self growth. Over the next few weeks the burdens weakened and the support from her parents to pursue what she wanted was unwavering and Anaya thrived on that.
This is definitely a story where parents realise that they cannot dictate their children’s life, this is also a story where a teenager’s character develops. But more importantly, this is a story where we understand that true success can only be achieved when one sets on a path true to oneself.
