Second Chance

A few days back, I got talking to a fairly middle aged lady at the pool in my club. The lady revealed that she had been a working woman till 3 months back and quit her job coinciding with her marriage. I did feel that it is a pretty late marriage but was taken aback to learn that she has 2 teenaged kids. “It’s my second marriage!” she said. Though I don’t know what happened to her first marriage, fact is that life has given this lady a second chance. She has grabbed it with both hands – she would me moving to Texas soon with her hubby n kids – and would try to live a full life, something she probably missed out earlier.

I believe all are dealt a certain hand in life… but there are always second chances. And as a friend rightly pointed out recently, second chances are available to all; not many really take them…!

The time in life where one can really enjoy is the student life. But a lot of us miss out on this enjoyment running after grades. And finally, when you are in a job and are running after deadlines and targets all the time, you realize what student life actually means. There is a great freedom in being in the care of parents in a life where the greatest worry is flunking any subject. But sadly, we realize this only when those days have passed…!

I had my real chance at life during my MBA. Being in hostel at some point in time is essential as it gives you the right balance of being answerable to parents as well as being responsible for yourself. And I am glad I made the best of those 2 years! Living life to the fullest may not always have a happy ending, but at least you never regret not experiencing everything… right?

Second chances also hold a true in terms of the career one opts for. How many of us are actually doing what WE want to do? There are a number of examples around us who left the rat race to do something they wanted to do. Nagesh Kukunoor left a cushy job to make films he believed in, Chetan Bhagat quit the investment banking arena to write novels on simple concepts… a lot of stories like these are seen around us. Maybe instead of doing something as drastic as these guys, one can start by doing the thing he/she likes as a hobby… who knows, it might one day just become a passion and give you the confidence to take that giant leap…!

In my life, I feel today I am living my second chance. I have the freedom which I lacked as a kid in a small town, I am doing a job I enjoy, I have the company of friends like I always wished I would… and I have today the will to see the silver lining in every cloud. So here’s to second chances… Hurray…!!!