Reflection on writing (and my serious disinclinationi towards it)

I just couldn't get myself to use the 'hate' word - I'm on a whole Be
Positive rant these days.

I have realized that to become a better writer, you just need to write.
I realize this as I sit down to write my essays, and freak out because
a) I haven't left myself any time and b) I don't like writing. I
actually started working on my essays a while back, but never
prioritized it because I simply just didn't like writing.

Man, if only I just wrote for the love of writing. Blogs must definitely
be given credit for unleashing that creative writing within all of us.
Even if it's not creative (case in point - this hashjob of a blog), at
least it's better than culling your writing abilities.

After all I did to escape writing - taking AP english to skip out of
college English, choosing a science major so I would never have to write
a paper, and now it still comes back to bite me in the ass.

One thing about MBA apps I'll tell ya - it makes other grad school
applications sound like a joke. Lot smaller, lot easier, lot less
involved, and much much much easier on the pocket. I can apply to 5
regular gradute programs for the price of one MBA program usually. And
I'd still have better chances of getting in.

In fact, that's one of the dilemmas that I've been facing in the last
week. As I procrastinate, I have been looking for more and more
justifications for a) Not applying and thus b) Not getting into any
decent colleges. One of my recommenders makes a very cogent argument: "I
don't understand why you don't stay in India, where the market is
booming NOW, and won't last forever. You want to go back to the US for
two years, and come back when the market's cooled down and nobody's
hiring anymore. It doesn't make any sense". It echoes a nagging voice
I've had in my head this whole time - if my vision is to start a social
business in India, why am I then going to the US to learn how to become
a good corporate General Manager? Shouldn't I just learn by actually
starting a business?

(On a sidenote, it's actually kind of funny that the person recommending
colleges why an MBA program at their school is right for me is trying to
convince me why an MBA doesn't even make sense).

In any case, I think this blog has served this purpose of getting the
writing juices flowing, so I bid you adieu.

- Ashish

We're not in Kansas anymore

Here's a blog by an Indicorps fellow, Ishtar Lakhani (Aug 07-08) , that really inspired me, and I thought I'd share with you.  The last line really reminds me of  so many people (including me) , who've always had the potential, but never did test their own limits.

Yay for inspiration.

---

We’re not in Kansas anymore!

Ishtar Lakhani
Indicorps Fellow (Aug 07-08)

Ok, so I’ve never been to Kansas nor do I have any desire to go there, in fact, I’m in Ahmedabad India for the next nine months. So what is the point of referencing an old American classic like ‘The Wizard of Oz’ you may ask. Patience and I’ll get to the point.

Being a volunteer working at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram I’ve built up a fairly substantial repertoire of answers to the barrage of questions I get asked daily. Generally questions like, “did Gandhi actually live here?”, “when did he live here?” “why did he live here?”… “where are the toilets?” However, recently I was posed with a question that stopped me in my intellectual tracks, a question that I had no rehearsed answer to, nor had I ever given it any real thought. Up till now that is. And that seemingly simple question was “where did Gandhi get his courage from?”

This is a man who not only stood up for an entire nation against a colossal empire but chose to challenge and often defy his family, his friends and his entire socio-political context (which I personally feel takes more guts than the former). Was he just naturally blessed with an innate sense of what is right and wrong and the bravery to stand up for his beliefs? Or was it a characteristic that he cultivated over a life time? My money is on the latter. Early on in life Gandhi admitted his almost crippling fear of public speaking, yet he went on to become one of the greatest orators in recorded history. He once said, “The history of great deeds is the history of men who had the courage to stand alone against the world”.

Don’t get me wrong one does not have to overthrow an entire oppressive regime to prove ones courage. India is a country where poverty is rife and employment is scarce (that is, if you have unfortunate fate of many Indians born at the bottom of the socio-economic rung). This would be enough to dishearten even the strongest of characters. However, how is it that thousands of people wake up every day and choose to endure back-breaking labour in fairly exploitative conditions in order to earn an honest wage to take care of their loved ones rather than submit to what seems like their dismal fate?

In the astute words of the Cowardly Lion (hence, ‘The Wizard of Oz’): “Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? …Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the “ape” in apricot? What have they got that I ain’t got?” If all it took was an amble down a yellow brick road to hustle someone in to giving you a heart, the world would be very different place.

It is my belief that courage comes from a belief that some things are more important than fear. This can range from the liberation of an entire nation to the desire to provide for ones family. Either way, it is an individual making a conscious decision to counteract the fear which they feel and redirect it into action. You are not necessarily born with courage but what you are born with is potential, and it is what you choose to do with that potential that really matters.

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~ Gandhi