Victories as memories: Do they really matter???

By Aishwarya Sharma, (XII),

Convent of Jesus & Mary Memorable experiences come with a number of assorted nuances. For some, it might be standing first in class, for some, winning a race, for others, winning scholarships or medals, getting a new vehicle, winning a competition. It’s nice and easy to achieve success, even easier to remember it, but doubly difficult to maintain it. We have chronicles of achievements piled up at our residences, for some, these are the storehouses of their ego and conceit, while for some; they’re the evidences of their happy times. We have so many sportspersons in our nation winning medals every now and then in some or the other event or competition. It’s nice, I appreciate it. I totally do, but there’s another reality existing today. The same medal claimers are the ones who live in utter poverty, misery and ignominy today. A national level athlete who won medals in the Asian Games some time back was pushed into flesh trade as she had to fend for her children and she had lost her husband too and there was no one to help her out. We very well know of what happened with our star Olympian athlete PT Usha. Despite having a big snap right there at her spot of accommodation and having a status as she has, she was denied a separate accommodation. There are millions of examples today of people who’ve won gold silver and bronze medals at various national, and international level events, who have sold off these very medals to afford a square meal a day. This is the state that our people are in despite achieving momentary success. Who cares? The memory still lives on…For some, winning prizes fuels their ego; they remember all this for the rest of their lives. Without forgetting to showcase their self proclaimed status of being prize winners, some of them resort to putting others down, while some get into the habit of becoming too overconfident and losing out on their future achievements and endeavours. This piece of writing is not meant to degrade people who win prizes, what I mean to say here is that these are not the only things in life, and lets not get carried away by receiving a mere artefact of metal in front of a crowd by some so called eminent person. Prizes are believed to be sources of honour and pride for people, the fact is that today many corrupt people too receive awards and mementos by famous personalities, while many of those who are diligent and genuine, get nothing out of it afterwards. They anyways have to struggle hard. Even if they win all those prizes and credit themselves to fleeting glory and fame, it all has to vanish someday and they have to work their butts out with things in life. And the unfortunate reality is that others don’t really remember what prize or award you received during some phase of your life. They don’t really care. And I can prove it to you...Name the last five winners of the Nobel Prize, any category you like or remember; Name the recipients of the last five Filmfare Awards for Best Actor; Name any five winners of the Best Actor Oscar; Can you answer all these questions?? Finding hard?? I know why...Now try answering these questions...Name five people who have helped you in times of distress; Name five friends who have encouraged you; Name five people who have given you effective advice; Easier, isn’t it? Memories are made not by materialistic achievements but by selfless poignant efforts. People might not remember what award you won, but they will surely never forget that you helped them once when they were in need. Applause dies out, trophies gather dust; what remains behind is the fact that we helped someone when they needed a helping hand. When I help someone climb a hill, I get nearer to the top myself. So, in which list are you???????