Bed of Roses

When i was in school , every one cheered me on ....saying just do well in first grade.......after that u can enjoy. But as soon as i landed in second grade ,i realised that i was wrong n life just got a wee bit tough as compared to the previous year . Then someone patted my back n said ....dude u r a second grader now .......study hard till u r thru ur 10th grade.After that life will simply rock!!!
Immediately the thought came ,....slog now n party later...n off i was on a rigorous ordeal thru the high school life .All with the sole motive which my school chum had ingrained in my head "study hard till u r thru ur 10th grade.After that life will simply rock!!!"
10th grade came n went (as the previous years) and the results were out. Got into a good course in a good college....n was waiting for my life to be a party. Then came the party popper prof @ college(11th grade) who sounded like he had just been elected the pope. He thundered " U have just started to climb the steps as far as ur academics is concerned. From here on ur life will be decided by wat courses u major in
and wat u achieve after ur 12th grade.Do well in 12th n u will comfortable all thru ur life"
My reaction to this "Son Of A B#$CH.....where was he screwing around when i was in 2nd grade atleast if i wud have known that the 12th grade was the be all n end all atleast i wud have enjoyed my life in school". So i shrugged-"Nevermind . Do well for 2 years n then life is a bigger n better party than i previously thought".
Off again i went, drudging along on a journey called life n periodically(rather always) dreaming bout a life filled with comforts. 12th grade results came.....was awesome .....garnered the required magic number for getting an admit into a good school that offered a great career prospect after my graduation. Life was like a bed of roses filled with all the happiness i cud ever think of. But just as my ship was about to sail......i was cautioned by an old man (or was he The Devil's Advocate?? ) ..."Son, u have now joined the bandwagon of men & women with great intellectual capabilities but for u to find success & happiness similar to them u'll have to slog . Just put in all u have got for 4 years. Get that graduation degree n off u go on an expressway to glory".
Irritated by now i remembered my school chum n his golden words "study hard till u r thru ur 10th grade.After that life will simply rock!!!" .At this moment i just wanted to bash him up. But by then this school chum of mine was already living in san jose n doing his undergrads(n all this after spending an enjoyable(read as a very very very comfortable) high school /10+2 years)
Resuming my journey and with a somewhat hesistant determination (wat a phrase!!! i dunno where that came from......) and crushing all those dreams bout life being a bed of roses, cleared all the courses n at the end of 4 years managed to bag a job with a firm that reached out to all budding engineers with the slogan "ABB comes home...leader in power/automation technology".
At this moment ,there was a slight glimpse of the bed of roses i was seeking...did party hard during the final year . Had a bunch of friends who cared a lot and were always there when i needed them the most. This was akin to culmination of a sweet recepie ....or was it?
Cautiously(due to my previous experience) saw thru the first year @ my job which was the most amazing time ever in my life...went thru the drills of corporate life ...n almost got that impeccable "been there done that" kinda attitude. Anything in my life needs to be fixed? naaaah u must be kidding.....life has never been so good....(atleast thats wat i thought till i entered the second year in my job) untill my bosses' discourse decided to put me back thru where i began.
The Gentleman said " Son , wat u see is not wat it seems. It has taken me 22 years to rise up to wat iam today . I was under this influence that once i get a job my future wud be very bright..........but son i dont want u to commit the same mistake which i did. Just get a post graduate degree n u will be on a path unmatched by anyone ." n i cud never forget his parting remark till date ...."After u get ur PG degree , trust me,Life wud be a bed of roses"........