"It was the worst of all, wasn't it? A project heavy term, packed with insane placement rush. I am so glad it's over." A mind says."Yeah, true that." A heart replies.
"So, you we should be partying, shouldn't we? Why are you taking me there?" The mind is going berserk.
"Just shut-up for an evening, please?" The heart is in no mood to retreat.
As I listen to this insane conversation, my feet slowly walk towards the place I see every time when I visit my hometown: the serene, calm beach of Alibag!
The tea vendor on the gate greets me with a smile. I have been seeing him for god-knows how many years now. That smile has been greeting me since the first time I came to this beach when I had gained enough conscience (and confidence) to come here alone. He has seen me grow young, as I have seen him grow old; but a smile doesn't have any age, does it?
I leave my shoes at that tea-vendors stall, cause nothing relaxes you more than a touch of cold sand on a calm night. I put headphones in my ears, without playing any songs on my phone; their purpose is to clear a cloak of invisibility around me, and boy, they serve the purpose so well :)
I walk towards my usual spot, sit there and stare at the sea. Lit by the divine moon, the sea completely reflects my mind: stormy, shallow, unstable when you glance at it but appears calm, deep, stable when you look at the horizon. The tides, like thoughts in my mind, come and go, but the core remains the same.
Everybody see's the effervescence created by temporary tides, but very few appreciate the calmness of the core. But that's not an issue, cause the core knows how to control those tides!
This ultimate game between the core, tides, sand, and moon lasts forever. You can't change it, and you are not even supposed to. You can only watch it and please yourself like I always do.
I have been coming to this place for several years, cause it calms my mind. It makes me realise about my abilities; my strengths and my weaknesses too; my maturity and my stupidity too.
It fills my cup of sanity!
And it tells me an important thing: whether you win or lose; love or hate; laugh or cry; basically, whatever you do, life goes on.
All you have to do is to live it!
And I want you all to remember this, cause it's going to be useful for all the paths you take. You might score well in CAT or maybe screw it badly, you may crack an interview or just fail to speak even a single word in it, or whatever happens in a head-or-tails situation (actually, there are always several other sides to a coin), it doesn't matter. It's not the end of your life, it's just an end (or beginning) of a small phase. So, don't take it too seriously and move on!
Don't focus on the tides, think about the core!
By the way, let me tell you, that this sea has always acted like my source of sanity (or whatever is left of it) and you'll need to preserve yours in the hectic life that you want to be a part of. So, find your own source of sanity too; it can be a place, thing or person, but make sure you find one :)