An ordinary life is a mosaic of small, recurring moments. It is defined by the rhythm of breath, the routine of work, the warmth of shared meals, and the quiet weight of personal sorrows. While it may seem insignificant in the scale of the cosmos, an ordinary life is the primary vessel for gaining experiences. To be human is to navigate the tension between our limitations and our infinite ability to dream, love, and wonder. A human has the right to design his own lifestyle that he/she may dream for, while some never plan anything, but it happens by their own way of being optimistic and fruitful.
As readers, briefly, you may be brooding over the topic “Beyond 21 Chapters” and questioning me about what it means. Hold on to your curiosity, and I shall clarify this by the end of this essay. For over a decade my life has been inspired by life lessons that knocked on me harshly, being painful and making me depressed. Since the age of 13, I have never experienced much happiness until now except for the real cherished moments that I enjoyed looking at my academic progress over the years, which made me completely fruitful. Those hardworking days with self-control, consistency, determination, and dedication carried us towards a prestigious path so far. I understood that the only weapon that would take me to the highest in the future is the best progress that I achieve in my academics and future career.
My hard work decided everything until the present, getting into a no. 1 state university in my country. I realized that one of the supporting tools to such an achievement should be the lack of a mobile phone and social media usage, as I didn’t have a phone for myself until I completed schooling. Presently I have been working in progress to take over my life step by step to greater heights in the future. Prioritizing academics was a prominent decision at the teenage because neither friends nor relatives are going to stand with me in my toughest times. My parents were a great support, and they were encouraging me in my journey. My academic results were the only huge win that opened new doors of opportunities and fuelled up happiness. Therefore, I suggest prioritizing academics.
Moreover, to be honest with the readers, I was a moody and reserved person who kept things to myself. Even today I don’t have one single friend to whom I can open up about anything; it’s because I didn’t find anyone who is of the same mindset. According to my viewpoint, I believe that friendship depends on the mindset of two individuals, like if both their thoughts are the same. In building up friendships I am obviously a loser, but I admire my sister because she has a friend where both of their thoughts and ideas are identical, and by no chance would there be a controversy between them. Even though I try connecting
with friends and speak to them frequently by realizing the significance of socialization and friendships, I never get back a call from them. There were many days I yearned for a call from them, and now, being a person who understood the reality, I stopped expecting this from them.Furthermore, one of my favourite topics was “financial literacy,” which I learned about at a very young age. I was from a middle-class family; I and my family could only afford to fulfil the essential needs. I never go for spending money unnecessarily unless it seems to be more essential. Most of the time I feel painful, thinking about my situation of not being able to buy what I wish to have in my life. This made me get motivated to earn money and accumulate funds in the form of savings. Savings and accumulation of funds lead us to live a comfortable life. The most painful circumstance I have experienced in my life is that we are judged by wealthiness, and of course we were judged as well. This created a great impact on me to work towards creating a better lifestyle by accumulating enough capital, because in the contemporary world money is the key player deciding everything, such as lifestyle, respect, and comfort. I wanted to be a money maker using my potential and skills and perhaps if we are economically and financially independent, we don’t have to rely on anyone.
“Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you” is a famous adage I strongly believe in. We have only one life, and we should be the game changer of our lives. Utilizing my own skills and maximum potential would be helpful to blueprint new horizons and help me to take my life to the next stage. Being inspired to make money at a very young age, I started to work on part-time freelancing jobs that helped me to pay my exam fees and save few of it. This helped me not only to earn but also to gain real experience as well. The more you try and explore life, searching for opportunities, the more and sufficient knowledge you gain and the self-confidence you build as well.
Moreover, present-day society has people who ignore those who helped in life. I understood the significance of paying gratitude to those who helped me in my life in some way, though others forget it. If you think of Newton’s Third Law as the “physics of the universe,” perhaps Karma is the “physics of the soul.” It’s because both express that, everything we put out into the world eventually makes its way back to us. So, we should realize that good deeds to others return to us in an optimistic way. Thus, I also advise not to allow anyone to interfere in your decisions; instead, step forward because people in the society are backbiters, and no matter what we do, they comment and bully us. Overall, in my progress of academics, I chose what I opted for, and I succeeded amidst discouragements and comments.
Also finally, I also understood that planning the work and working the plan is crucial to succeed in life. Make plans in life and work to achieve them. Furthermore, I was depressed and exhausted by comparing my lifestyle with others until I understood that everything happens for a reason. Now I take a chance to be thankful to the god for giving me “Life Inspired by Lessons”. Ample experiences and examples knocked on me to learn about people, life, and reality. Coming back to the title “Beyond 21 Chapters,” I am almost 21 today, whereas at a very young age I had the opportunity to understand life retrospectively to lead a systematic and planned life prospectively. From depression to enduring truths, I feel myself as a proud and privileged individual at this age. “Life is a rough slab of marble, not a soft bed of moss.” The challenges we encounter are like the blows of a chisel, not meant to hammer us. The only people who become masterpieces are those who lean into the sting of the stone and break the jagged edges of their own fear.
Written By:
Shivani Vasan
Faculty of Management and Finanace
University of colombo
Design By: –
Rtr. Sawandi Thisarani
(Senior Blog Team Member 2025-26)
