Dear best friend,
I know you are one of the best things to have happened to me, and to everybody else who has managed to get close to you. I don’t say this because you are my best friend and I love you to bits, but because I know you have a heart of gold. I didn’t know you when you came to the same city as mine to pursue your MBA, but as fate had it, we met and after a series of events what followed next was unadulterated friendship and admiration.
Like everyone else, you had your share of flaws and blemishes, and I was lucky enough to see past all those and discover the gem of a person you are. The more I got to know you, the more I started appreciating you. In this world where everyone is busy putting on a mask to portray perfection, you owned up to your imperfections and shortcomings and wore them like an armour. Never before had I met someone who was so open about his flaws and inabilities and was willing to work on them day and night and get better!
Your lack of oratory skills, your stage fright, your fear of speaking in front of people does NOT define you as a person, it never did. And yet there were people who judged you for that, made fun of you and laughed at you. As an MBA student, one is required to make and give Powerpoint presentations, for sure, but something as common and normal as stage fright became an issue for you. At one point I thought it would break your confidence and you’d be scared to go up on stage again. But I cannot express my joy on how you decided to overcome that.
What nobody saw was our Skype calls where you stayed up at night and practised your speaking, where you were open to being corrected at every point without being embarrassed about it. Nobody saw the amount of efforts you put in to fight your fears and emerge victorious with flying colours. What kept everyone busy was placements and tiresome GDs and PIs. In the hullabaloo over all that, nobody realised that my best friend was meant to stand out of the crowd. Nobody noticed the path you were carving out for yourself because everyone was busy being a part of the herd.
Today when those people who made fun of you are dressed up in tailored suits and boots working for men in denim and graphic T-shirts, you are on your way to becoming ‘the guy in denim and graphic tees’. All your batchmates who are working from nine to nine for someone else, you are doing the same for yourself. Your dream of serving people has taken off and I’m sure those same people will be the ones to watch your first Tedx Talks on You Tube.
Love,
Your best friend(whose T-shirt you are yet to return)!
Featured image: source