Pursuit of my Happyness
A day you always crave for, (apart from the
day of the month, where you receive your paycheck) is your ‘Birthday’. As the
month of your birthday begins, you start a countdown on the calendar that you
never referred to in the entire year. Anxiety and excitement begin to see-saw
up and down with every passing minute. Friends start planning discretely for a
surprise one week before. Mom and dad are inquiring about the birthday gift,
whereas rather than being honest you pretend to be modest.
Finally the day
before your birthday arrives. Your enthusiasm knows no bounds.
This year on the eleventh September, my
supposedly high spirits seemed to be low. Coincidentally, my birthday and the
One-Act Drama Competition were clashing on the same date. Before the big day, I
had left from my college at seven in the evening after the exhausting
rehearsals of the drama we were performing the next morning. Glancing at my
phone, all of a sudden made me realize that next day was not only my big
competition but also my birthday. All the excitement fizzed out to anxiety.
The next day’s performance was to decide
the mood of my birthday. I had dinner with my parents. Prepared for tomorrow
and crashed onto the bed. My best day of the year begun with the constant
ringing of my phone and my parents standing in front of me wishing me birthday
wishes. It was twelve by my watch and in a drowsy voice I somehow mumbled a
thank you, soon followed a dozen of phone calls from friends and relatives striving
hard to be the first ones to wish me. The feeling was so unique and requisite;
you just never want it to end.
I somehow managed to attend the calls and
then went back to my hibernating mode. After some hours, my mom woke me up,
taking me to the living room; my friends from the Drama Team had shown up at my
place at 4.30 in the morning. That’s when I realized what amazing true friends
are. We talked cracked jokes for some time, then cut a cake and then they
dispersed as we had to report to the venue of the competition at seven. This
pleasant surprise had started my birthday at a very high positive note.
As me and my team reached the venue, we
started focusing on the performance which we were going to. We started rehearsing
our lines to avoid any fumbles on stage. It was extremely important for me to
deliver a good performance, as I didn’t want my birthday to be affected nor did I
want my performance to be distracted by my birthday. As I was about to go on
stage, there were butterflies in my stomach. The show started, we delivered, and
we were paid with a huge applause from the audience. As we stepped down the
stage, we were satisfied & dissatisfied with the deliverance of our
performances. The rest of the day went pretty well, received a lot of phone
calls and messages.
The results were to be declared in the
evening. My phone had almost run out of juice. I was heading home in a rickshaw
when my phone went dead. As I got down the rickshaw my mom was standing down
waiting for me, as she eagerly wanted to break the news of us winning the gold
in the One-Act Drama. I was in seventh heaven, it felt like standing at the top
of the world. This birthday just couldn’t have been any better. Every year this
day is the one that one always craves for.
Well this year, it took me to a whole new
level. (12th Sept, 2014)
