AWA 9

Some cultures view life as a line, extending from point A to point B. Others view life  as a circle.

Explain which of these two views coincide with yours. If neither, what shape or form would you propose? Please explain.

I believe that my life have been the shape of a Ray, where even though it starts from a point, it just tries to extend itself more and more, with no limits. My belief is based on the following reasons.

Initially, my birth on this earth was the point of the ray, which starts its journey. From child, I have been moving around a lot of places within my country. I have done my schooling in almost 7 places, stretching the point of learning people of different cultures and extending friendships with them.

Then, after my education I taught people in my area about the latest software technologies, helping them learn the new developments of the IT field in our country. After 1 year, I stretched myself by taking up higher studies and extending myself to top the class in one of the semesters during my graduation. That was the time when I saw and met eminent personalities like Mr. Narayan Murthy who have stretched their lives for their dreams and betterment of the society. That helped me gain strength and believe in my capabilities and dreams. I dared to innovate a new course in my final semester, taking up a challenging task of the niche field of bioinformatics.

After working for almost a year now, yet again I stretched myself to go for my desire to do MBA from a reputable university, for which I am writing this exam, which can help me in realizing my dream of being a successful entrepreneur and lead the world towards a new dream.

I believe everyone comes in this world with a purpose but very few people tend to realize it. Life without a purpose is like wandering in a vast desert. Due to the dreams and the zeal to do something different, makes my life being a ray, which though having a start point can never end because I hope to leave behind some principles for somebody else to follow.

 

AWA 8

The German poet Goethe once wrote, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

Goethe’s statement could probably apply to schools, government, social services, business, even to families-any place, really, where people interact with each other. Is Goethe just expressing pretty-sounding, idealistic nonsense, or does his idea have real-life capability?

Based on your experience, observation, or reading, please comment on the usefulness of Goethe’s statement as a realistic guide to human relationships.

 I believe that Goethe’s statement has far reach real-life applicability rather than just being an idealistic nonsense due to the following three reasons.

Firstly, interaction is the important key to the communication in today’s world. People interact almost 24 hrs. in a day from home to workplace to shopping malls. Treating the people as they are makes them realize their value and gives the pride of being an essential part of one’s life, which in turn, helps in doing their respective jobs happily. Imagine a family where the husband refuses to acknowledge the sacrifices of his wife to run his family better, sometimes at the cost of her career.

Secondly, treating people according to their capability makes them know their true worth and hidden talents. For example, Indian Bollywood star Govinda, was once a vendor seller selling vegetables while dancing and singing to the famous songs simultaneously. People used to enjoy his way of selling stuffs, unless a famous film director, eventually ending up as a top Bollywood actor and now a responsible MLA, spotted him.

Thirdly, treating people of what they are helps in creating a friendly environment. If one would respect a daily sweeper of his commitment to keep the roads clean, the sweeper will be satisfied that people around him respects him and worth of his job.

Therefore, for all the above said reasons, I agree that one should treat people of what they can be and what their importance is, which can eventually help in a calm and happy prosperous living environment.

AWA 7

The former secretary general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold wrote, “Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step: only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.”

While such a philosophy may be appropriate for the leader of the United Nations, it may not be an acceptable practice for ordinary individuals to follow as they go about their daily lives. What is your opinion? Support your position with illustrations from your observation, study, reading, or personal experience.

I believe that Dag Hammarskjold’s philosophy is true in all circumstances for all the people in their lives for the following three reasons.

Firstly, every people have certain dreams but very few actually dare to go to fulfill them. The people who follow their dreams change not only their life but also people around them significantly in future though they may have to face obstacles in the short-term. For example, Dhirubhai Ambani went through all the his initial painful years sacrificing a lot of conventional life to build the largest private company of India, employing 60000 people today and benefiting the economy of the country.

Secondly, ordinary people have certain aspirations. For example, children might get the right education in future if he could be able to save a few dollars of his income sacrificing his present.

Last but not the least, though ordinary person cannot ignore his daily struggle of life but at the same time he cannot ignore the importance of what he wants for himself and his family in future. He needs to act responsibly ignoring the present circumstances to lead a comfortable life later on. For example, our current prosperity is due to the abolition of the evil laws like bonded labor, inequality, etc in the past. I still remember our current Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, brought liberalization policy in 1992, as then Finance Minister despite all criticisms, only to see the today’s healthy growing economy.

Therefore for the above said reasons, I strongly oppose the author’s believe that fulfilling long-term goals with risks in present, is only the characteristics of high profile people and not ordinary people.