Family isn’t always blood!
This blog is unlike my previous ones because a feedback from a venerable person inspired me to include my thoughts on the people and life around more personally. It’s basically about a group of notable people who may not have played the most significant role in my life but have definitely taught me some of the most integral life skills. So this one goes out to the family I made outside my house.
“Today is fitness day.” Once every week these four words said by Mr. Atrocious Coach sly grinning in a corner were enough to leave us whining incessantly for the next hour and a half. In all candor, “us” only included Mr.Highlight and me due to a couple of reasons though. One being the counterpart girls aka the sports nerds whose nickname says it all I guess. The second being that no one else seemed to mind a little workout which was the primordial reason we went to play badminton after all except us- the impish indolents. In our defence though, we just learned it from our head coach Mr.Lazy. The three little ducklings kept quarreling all the while the coach was explaining the drill. The way with which they blatantly ignored his instructions was rebellious. In one corner Mr.Book kept talking about pop culture and fandoms with Miss Best Player and Miss Giggle. The level of seriousness of that conversation was let’s say hilariously intense. The soul of the place was the two little girls inundated with innocence. They weren’t exactly little but they were just young and caught up in their own high-spirited world. Miss Normal came infrequently and was nonchalant about the happenings just like Mr.Chill coach. Since we had fluctuations of coaches more often than the change in moods of a teenager, Mr.Chill was the best one we had so far. Miss Normal and Mr.Lazy coach had a comic banter going on every time they played together.
Six months later I walk into the same court where the same people mentioned above brought life to the court literally were missing. The sense of desolation I felt sitting between the two wooden benches that hitherto was the hubbub of the court was poignant. The pandemic changed my perspective of the place. However diabolical and hypocritical Mr.Autrocious was he brought in a level of discipline and control over us unruly teens. That taught me that for any institution to function one must have a stern authority. The counterpart girls would chatter perpetually about matters that didn’t concern anyone but themselves. However, sitting on the now noiseless court the silence was louder than their annoying chit chat. This taught me that we must always value the presence of everyone around us whether we like the person or not because life is unexpected and sometimes the voices we once hated may be the ones we miss the most. “Don’t take anything too personally or seriously, just go with the flow.” These wise words were said by an otherwise prankster and jest maker -Mr.Highlight- who was never seen agitated or irritated even after being made fun of and hated by almost everyone. Soon I’ll step into adulthood and I hear a lot of people asking me not to be childish and infant-like. With the immense societal pressure and norms of acting like an adult, looking at the three little ducklings quarreling over trivial matters like who gets to play more, taught me to cherish these little things in life because looking back and reminiscing my childhood fights I realized those were the big things in life that are going to be missed by these ducklings when they become older. Mr. Lazy Coach wasn’t entirely lazy just because he hated to run around on court; A large part of the lackadaisical behavior was due to a stomach health mishap that affected his fitness. He taught me a very significant lesson that courage is not always about speaking up for yourself, it can also be as simple as fighting your own inner demons and inner battles and coming out a winner. Mr. Book taught me to be confident with who we are irrespective of what someone may say. He would never get affected by what we said about his hair, his glasses, his book obsession, etc. He just went ahead and laughed with us or came up with a comeback but he never changed who he was. Miss best player as the name suggests was the greatest player of the lot and the sole reason for that was her focus and consistency. Over the last 4 years numerous times the coaches, coaching, anything and everything changed but her goal of becoming better at the game remained constant and that taught me perseverance. An important lesson that both Miss Normal and Mr. Chill coach taught me was being unperturbed in every situation. There is no need in this world for me to react immediately. Observe, contemplate, and then react. One time the two little girls were fighting over having me as their doubles partner. Unknowingly this wholesome incident made my day, my week, my month, my year, teaching me that sometimes even unknowingly our little kind gestures can be so impactful in someone’s lives. Last but not the least Miss Giggle taught me that it is absolutely normal to be a happy go lucky always cheerful person. I mean we all ultimately aim to be happy and if someone already is what better!
This is the family that I cherish and miss. These are the people who made a mark in my life just by being who they are. I truly thank them.
