When I was asked to write this piece, I couldn’t think of any issues important in my life. My first impulse like any other teenager was ‘Google search’ but then I realised that there are some things that even Google can’t answer. It was difficult to confront my own voice and ideas, but I decided to take the road less travelled and listen to my conscience.
Yes, “my conscience”, the voice which has guided me at different stages of my life and helped me surmount the most alluring pressures — peer pressure. Of late I have found myself on the crossroads, where I didn’t know which road to take. For instance, I have this passion for cars, bikes and I crave to experience the ride, but I simply can’t because I’m not 18. I envy my friends who are my age and they drive.
I am mocked for not meeting their standards and adhering to norms set by my parents and society. They feel it’s high time I come out of the clutches of norms and experience the freedom. I too want to experience this freedom and fulfil my passion for bikes, cars and speed and show them that I’m not a coward and my zeal and enthusiasm is more than theirs.
But then I hear this old friend of mine, my conscience, which asks me to reflect on my craze for cars and bikes — a desire so strong, yet something which could put innocent lives at stake. Am I so weak that I can let a wild streak mislead me? And then I see that I can’t turn my love for bikes and cars into a wild animal and make innocent lives its prey. So, I decided to trust this old friend of mine.
The writer is a student of
Father Agnel Public School, Delhi