You Are Becoming

By K J Thomas

Squeezed between expectations and the hard realities of everyday life many promising teenagers end up feeling suffocated and depressed. Parents and society, often obsessed with academic performance and accomplishments of children, do not understand what they are going through in school and out of school. This book reveals the process of becoming, finding means and ways to get the best out of school, some of the most effective, time tested and irresistible learning techniques, It also contains a comprehensive list of useful websites for high school and higher secondary school students, strategies for a more powerful vocabulary and much more…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Sep 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9789352063123

Book preview

Author

PART 1

YOU ARE BECOMING

Chapter 1

A Long Held Misunderstanding

‘What is the funniest joke I have ever told you?’ I asked my wife on our way back from school one fine day (don’t be too quick to judge, we both are teachers).

‘That you will become a writer’, came the prompt reply.

‘What if I become a writer?’ I wasn’t willing to take it.

‘May be; unrealistic dreams have ruined many lives’. She said coldly.

‘I am not going to be one of them’. I tried to make myself convincing.

‘What will you write about?’ The discussion soon became serious.

‘Teenagers,’ I said. Teenagers, in all parts of the world, have this belief that one day they would become something in their lives. I would let them know how true their claim is.

That discussion never ended, at least as far as I am concerned. You will find the reason in the following pages.

To start with, answer this simple question:

What do you want to become?

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So you have answered this question that keeps intriguing you time and again. Congratulations. Most students at your age find themselves in a quagmire if asked to answer this question from the core of their hearts. Now that you have answered it; whatever it may be: a doctor, engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, teacher, professor, anything under the sun. Let me tell you with a lot of conviction that YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BECOME whatever you aspire to become. You will not find yourself an IAS, IPS, doctor, engineer etc. one fine day. It is a misunderstanding to believe that you are going to become anything.

Wait. Do not throw away this book. The fact is, however hard you may try to negate it, YOU ARE BECOMING…Yes, you are becoming a doctor, an engineer, IAS, IPS or what not? That is to say, everyday of your life either you are taking a step closer to your dream or a step away from your dream. There is no midway; you cannot be stagnant on this road to success. Try to be still and dreaming, and the crowd trying to run past you will crush you; be dreaming and moving forward and the crowd of ambitious people will push you ahead.

Once when Picasso, the world renowned painter, was in a restaurant, a beautiful young lady approached and asked if he could draw her portrait on a napkin in one minute.

‘In one minute?’ Picasso confirmed.

‘Yes, in one minute. They say you are the greatest painter in the world, prove yourself.’

Picasso understood that the lady was provoking him. He asked her to be seated. Took out a napkin and made a portrait of the lady in 30 seconds. The lady could not believe her eyes. The painting looked like a photograph of hers, so perfect. She went to him with her wallet and asked, ‘how much?’

‘One million,’ said Picasso.

‘One million!’ The lady was shocked. ‘But you worked for just thirty seconds, how can you demand so much?’

Picasso smiled and said, ‘Madam, I did it in thirty seconds… but you need to know that I spent the last thirty years of my life learning to do it.’

That is what I am trying to say. Picasso had been becoming a painter for thirty years, and so are we…becoming whatever we are going to become, everyday of our life.

Where do I want to reach (my ambition)?

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Where am I now (in my process of becoming)?

(Sample Response: I am far from realising my dream/ I know I am doing my best and am inching closer to my dream each passing day. I have _ years more to work towards reaching my goal. I should rearrange my steps to reach my destination in _ years/I must just keep moving at this pace for the next_ years. )

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How do I plan to get there? (My Road map for success)

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The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Dr. Forrest C.Shaklee

Chapter 2

Teen Wisdom

A few months ago, a friend of mine came to Ludhiana to meet me. He came by car from Delhi and upon reaching Ludhiana rang me up and said:

‘Jins, how can I come to your place man?’

‘Tell me dear, where are you now?’ I replied.

‘I have no clue about that… I know I am in Ludhiana’. He was irritated and almost out of control.

‘Calm down… calm down, ask someone and find out where you have reached and call me back. I will be there in a jiffy.’ When I said this he was all the more furious and disconnected the phone.

But there was no other way. So he asked a shop keeper and called me back. Needless to say he was very near to the place where I lived.

It’s easy guys! Wisdom lies in realizing where you stand and organizing the future course of action in such a way that they will take you a step closer every day to where you want to reach.

Here is an extract from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which, I hope, will make the point clearer. "Alice falls into a wonderland and decides to get help from a strange cat:

Alice: ‘Would you tell me please which way I ought to walk from here?’

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the cat.

‘I don’t much care where’, said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk,’ said the cat."

Aren’t we often like Alice? Undecided, Not sure about where we want to go…

Take a second: wisdom is not about having knowledge (as to where you are or where you want to go); it is about applying knowledge. Knowledge will answer the questions:

Where am I right now? And, where do I want to reach?

Wisdom will answer the question:

How do I reach from where I am to where I want to be?

BE WISE… So that you will never have to say…

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN…

Or

I COULD HAVE…

These are the saddest words in life.

What your teachers do in school is to measure and evaluate you. Believe me, friend, nobody can evaluate you the way you can. Don’t be influenced by people who underestimate you. You don’t need to mug up all the books in the world to know what wisdom is. It lies there; deep within you. Let me go a little personal with you here. I was one of the poorest performers in high school. I barely managed to pass grade 10. I never spoke a single word of English. And here I am writing in fairly good English. How come?

You think someone gave me a magic tablet?

No one did… You don’t need any one to do it. Just look inward.

Now you see it, don’t you?

You are, in your own way, a genius. Guide yourself for you are wise, for you are young, for you are a student… Seek help, but decide for yourself… you know what works best for you.

Now answer these questions:

Write any five reasons why you consider yourself wise.

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Chapter 3

Five D’s of Becoming

1.DESTINATION

I cannot change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination

Jimmy Dean

Think of the extract you read before from the story ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Why was the cat unable to help Alice? You know it… because Alice did not know where she wanted to go, it does not take great intellect to make out that nobody can guide you if you do not know where you want to reach. Moreover, you yourself will be able to do nothing better than while away your precious time. Set your destination; if you do not, other people might do it for you, but ultimately you will end up regretting where you land up. You maynot like where you reach, but by then it will be too late to turn back and start all over again.

One of the perfectly cogent reasons for many brilliant teenagers turning old without realizing their dreams is that their destinations lack precision. A well defined destination/goal is a prerequisite for success in life. Success, as they say, doesn’t go to anyone; people go to it. The road isn’t going to be smooth; it is thorny, zigzag and torturous.

Many people leave right after starting, many go a few miles and far too many give up right before they reach - without knowing how much more of the journey is left. They cannot afford to tolerate the hardships, and withstand failures on the way.

Make up your mind (right now… before you read any further), and define your destination by filling in the spaces provided.

I am becoming

in the next

years. I understand that I will not become a

one fine day unless I work hard every day from today. I promise to remain committed.

Your SignatureYour Parent’s Signature

2.DARING

"It is not because things

Reviews for You Are Becoming

[Cinimol Joseph · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an amazing book and a must read for every teenager. I loved reading it and it has helped me become a better teacher. Now I see my students in a new light. Nobody paying for this book will have to mourn over spending this small amount for it is worth double that.