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Opportunities to Grow

The Adventurous SpiritGlobal Beat

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” This quote, very correctly said by leadership expert John Maxwell, stands true in all aspects of our lives. New developments and advancements will keep coming our way and will change our lifestyle whether we like it or not. But what really makes a difference is how we accept the change and whether we use it to our advantage and grow with it.

Change is happening everywhere. For example, on a city level, a prominent change that is going to affect most of us here in Ahmedabad is the construction of a new transportation system, the metro line. Our community is starkly divided on this subject. On one side, some people believe that the construction of such a new system is going to help modernize Ahmedabad and transform it into a metropolitan city. It is aimed to help reduce traffic, as more people will use public transport, which in turn will reduce pollution. But on the other side, people also say that the problems, like increased traffic due to narrower roads and noise pollution due to the construction, outweigh the benefits that the metro system may provide.

On a larger scale, development is visible at the national level too. The government is trying to promote the usage of toilets as open defecation is still a big problem in our country today. Such a shift in practice would make the country a safer and cleaner place and get rid of numerous diseases linked to open defecation. But other citizens argue that this would be a transgression of their religion and disrupt the natural way humans were meant to live.

From these examples, I understand that there is a contradictory attitude towards change in my community. Some feel that it is unnecessary, while others feel it is the way to a better future. Also, change often brings up an apprehension of some sort. We are so accustomed to our lifestyles that change is sometimes hard to accept.

But through all of this, new ideas and opinions are finally being encouraged. On a national level, efforts are being made to bring about a change in mindset. One example is the “TED Talks India” initiative, where creative minds come to hold conferences and share their ideas on a wide variety of topics that cater to bringing about changes in mindsets, lifestyles, and practices. And on a smaller scale, in our school we are always encouraged to follow the FIDS Process (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share) which helps us identify problems in our surroundings and empowers us to do something about them.

I personally feel that we should maintain a balance between holding onto our roots and accepting new change. By being open to developments that will help us advance, we can ensure that we grow and evolve along with time and also hold on to things that form a part of our identity. So without a doubt, I feel that change is positive. Here we also need to think about which changes will be the best for us. We need to decide if a certain change is worth the risk we’re taking, if the change brought will be impactful enough, and if it is worth the effort. Thinking before making these decisions is key.

Even though there is lot of positivity around change, we still have a lot of scope for improvement. The community will endlessly debate topics, and opinions will always differ. But revolutionary movements like #MeToo promise a future where change is not feared but accepted with open hands as an opportunity to grow.

Kushan Mehta is an eighth grader at The Riverside School in India. He enjoys technology, language, design, and music. He has published numerous articles and short stories in online magazines, newspapers, and novels. Kushan tries to fade the lines between the two countries he has been tied to — the United States and India — and hopes to write his own novel one day, too.

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