Life! Exactly how can one define it?

Journey of life; Illustration by Rafe


Some famous people have defined it, of course. You can just google it, whatsoever.

I think life is something we can’t describe in a few sentences. It’s something beyond explaining. All I can do is illustrate some parts of it about what I think about life. 


So, let’s begin with hope. I don’t know if I’m a movie freak or not, whenever I think of hope “The Shawshank Redemption” comes to my mind instantly. The way Andy believes in hope and eventually gets out of jail has inspired a lot of movie lovers, no doubts.  Hoping for better things is one of the basic instincts of the human mind. If anything bad happens, we just hope that something extraordinary will happen to make that up. It's like we are riding on a boat. We know that in a while a storm is gonna blow us out but we hold on to the oar and paddle it as hard as we can. We try and try. Fighting all odd ways just to see the rays of sunshine or feel the peaceful rain upon us. Sometimes, we make it through the storms or end up on a new island. The journey isn't over. It has to be begun again and again until we reach the destination. Getting lost or losing ways is common but there should be always the courage to reach that sunny point. 


To me, frustrations are like the piles of things scattering around my room. Sometimes, I decide to get organized but ended up creating more and more. It's like these things don't want to stay tidy. They demand space, energy, time, attention. Who knows what else! Unfortunately, somehow it manages to get all those elements at the right time and create nasty havoc all around me. I shut everything and everyone because I don't think these things are censored to show. Even if someone manages to look through my mess, they just don't care as there are others to cope with it, not me. "At least, I managed the time to feel your so-called Havok, b****". Things don't stay the same as before. Each time, these types of havoc happen, it badly drains the energy of the soul. Sad, right?


One thing I always fascinate about is moments. They're like the summer breeze to soothe you from something you don't wanna deal with right now. When I get these moments, I try to get into them. Not like going to a beautiful place, hanging about, clicking cool photos. I like to be myself. I care about the fact that I won't get the moment back so let's just go with its flow. Talking and walking is a fantastic way to know people! When we walk and talk, it just turns the whole scene into a plot. A movie plot, there is so much to explore! You offer your opinion, they offer theirs. Yes, there is a huge possibility of a fight when things don't match. But it's okay. Because in this way, we know that the person isn't making something up. They are truly expressing their thoughts which they believe. 


There is a well-known saying, dream crumbles at the extreme. I don't remember where I have found it. It's so deep. Everyone dreams. A dream is like planning something. As in I suddenly wake up in the morning and decide to color my hairs purple. I don't bother about the pros or cons of it. But, there is a tiny possibility that it may occur in near future. Who knows? Sometimes, people dream big with the pros and cons list. They gather their needs, thoughts, and build on a castle with the base of it. Then one day, the castle crumbles. Something might be wrong. Maybe, the brick wasn't strong enough. The pilers might be too steep. And, so on.  Not everyone has to courage to dream another dream. So, they become insomniac. Always on the pressure if it's worth it.


Uncertainty. 'What is gonna happen ‘ is maybe the most asked questions in our whole life. After waking up, before going to sleep, in math classes, in presentation, and whatnot. As in, the universe is playing a little game with us called "can you guess?" Well, it's dubious to be uncertain when things don't make sense. What can we do? We play the game which is like a hunting game. We are wandering in a huge space with some ancient tools, making our way through the fields to find something we haven’t seen or known before.  Sometimes, we miss the target. Sometimes, we don't. Above all, it's a fun game, actually. Life is about uncertainty and you never know when you get a box full of chocolates!


Monsters are hideous. In our life depression is like monsters that remain in our heads and feed on our thoughts, confidence, goodwill, and much more. No matter what happened, they are just too stubborn to leave the precious mind. They get daunted for some time but they fight back real soon. There is no scope of running from these hideous creatures. We have to fight and fight till we win. 


All those elements are life. We hope, dream, get moments, frustrate ourselves, make uncertain moves, get depressed. It has been the same, maybe from the beginning of mankind. People like it this way. And, of course, there is certainly an option for the difference. After all, we all don't think "the sound of silence " is one of the best songs on earth or Messi is the greatest player of all time. 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Kanij Fatema is a writing enthusiastic soul from the department of leather product engineering, University of Dhaka. She worked as an editor of the first ever online magazine of ILET, 'Colour Splash'.