By Priya Singh
I came across this line while reading the book
‘Lean In: Women, Work, and The Will to Lead’. It says:
‘So please ask yourself: What would I do if I
weren’t afraid? And then go do it.’
While it may mean different things to different
people, it gives a common message to all.
“Confront your fears”.
Now the real deal: What would you do if you
weren’t afraid?
I was reading about this on a Q&A site and
could find all kind of answers, from falling off a big cliff somewhere, to selling
everything.
For someone, it may mean sleeping alone at night,
taking up swimming lessons, voicing yourself at your workplace, eating a
complete meal with your parents, being quite for an entire hour, etc. etc.
It might sound silly but it means something
entirely different to me.
What would I do if I weren’t afraid? Well, I’ll
go on a road trip all alone to the most haunted places in the world. While you
may make the mistake of thinking I am afraid of haunted sites, that’s actually
not the case.
Instead of the places, I am afraid of the people.
I am afraid of the people judging me. I am afraid of my safety in my own land.
And most of all, I am afraid of those demotivators who are lined up, waiting
eagerly for one reckless act of mine.
I have discussed my crazy intentions with quite a
no. of friends, and it’s disappointing to not find a single one encouraging me
to go ahead. Maybe they would have been more supportive if the world was
actually a safer place for a lone female traveler.
They give me suggestions to start with Thailand or Bangkok, but India is a definite NO. But this enrages me.
After all, this is my country I am talking about. Don’t I have the right to
feel safe here, irrespective of the time and the place? If this is not true, we
really need to think about this and we need to think hard.
This has to change. It’s high time now.
"About the author"
I am an Indian female, have crossed a quarter of
my life (assuming I am going to reach the maximum average age of humans without
being consumed in the zombie apocalypse ) without knowing where am I heading
and I have learnt the definitions of Geek and Nerd
by heart. Apart from that, I am a Software Developer by profession (Yes,
I know every other person is…and I agree I am not contributing anything
extraordinary to the humankind). I love to read and spend most of my salary on
books (for which I have to face regular rantings from my parents). I have
recently discovered that I love travelling (come on, its not like I
am 50 and I just discovered I am single!) but I am still searching for some
guidance to fulfill my crazy travel ideas.
