Whether education has made me a better person or just a biased and conceited one, is something I have not been able to decide, even after 8 years of finishing my education. The apathy that we, the so called privileged ones because we are well educated and well fed, have towards the environment around us is amazing.

We are not only too busy to pay any heed to the needs of the lesser privileged, we have the gall to blame the government for all the mishaps around us. How about a few examples? We have a huge problem of garbage and uncleanness’ in our capital, and the government started an initiative, in which the recyclable and non recyclable waste was to be divided accordingly and dropped in respective bins, placed conveniently around our localities. How many of us did that? Were we able to change our or our parents habits of putting all in one bag and giving it to our ‘jamadaar’ to throw, who is anyways unaware of the need of garbage segregation for he is too busy trying to make ends meet for himself?

Another example: How many times have we been told to shut engines while on red lights, use water cautiously and not to burn waste as it contributes to pollution? Let not start counting now simply because we do not know to count that far. How many of us stop ourselves/our families from wasting electricity? Or stop using cars for short distances, walking instead? Or use public transport and car pools? If you so called educated privileged guys reading this article are feeling guilty, stand in line behind me as I am the one who is writing this article, with the reality hitting me in my face that I am probably just as callous and thick skinned as probably the daily wage uneducated worker, whose aim is life to launder what he earns every day and care a damn for the society, from which he did not get much anyways.

What will it take for us to sit up and notice that we, the educated youth of today, are probably the only ones who an help our country, not only by practicing everything mentioned above (and much more) but also because we can instill into our children the urgency, the importance and the criticality of the improvement we need to carry out to save our country from the consequences of this apathy.

I am a fairly optimistic individual, not thinking a six needed on the last ball of an India Australia match is impossible to achieve, and hence I am navigating myself away from the negative thoughts and listing down the things I need to do to make myself feel better about myself. I will walk and inculcate into my child the habit of walking where we can avoid taking cars. I will miss gym but I will not leave fan and lights running unnecessarily I will eat chocolates, but I will not waste water. I will try and help my hired help, treat them with respect, make sure there children are given a chance to study and help them as much as I can to understand how education can give them a better life.

I will use detergent conservatively and reuse as much plastic as I can. I will sing in the shower but not honk unnecessarily. And these are enough promises and resolutions for a day!! Lets do it guys. Pay it forward just for once, and the snowball effect of this will improve life for all around us. Let’s behave not like small city individuals, but a global citizens, and make this world a better world to live in – However clichéd that may sound -J

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