"Role no. ****** Not selected" 

When I read this on screen, I was heartbroken. Yes, I had made tall claims "Karm ki chinta karo, phal ka nahiin..." But the truth was, the REJECTION had hurt me - big time. Now, I was not at home, so I couldn't cry on my mother's shoulders... I was alone, and had to deal with this alone. At first I locked myself in the guest room of my grandmother's house and cried. (Strangely there were no tears, only sound!) Then came the self pity mode - I was like "Why me?" And a stupid voice at the back of my mind said "That female with the roll no. preceding mine got selected. She was silent in the GD! What a dumb institution!" Whether the girl or the institution was dumb or not, the fact was; I was rejected!!! 

Then I dejectedly took my phone to type "I have got s-e-l-e-c-t-e-d" Yes! if you type rejected in t9en mode with your cell phone, it reads as selected!! Anyway at that time I was delving in too much self pity to notice it! But now I am looking at this whole 'rejection' from a new perspective.

Post this incident I realized that like everyone else, I too got affected when rejected, but a little less... (I am a megalomaniac!) I got rejected from more institutions on various pretexts, but after a point it fell on deaf ears!! But that grudge towards the institutions was there. My list of excuses kept increasing "That institute is not among the top ten anyway... Oh THAT institute? I was never keen on it... The canteen is not good there... That's in North India, too far from home... There is too much ragging there..." 

Why? Why does everything have to be a case of the fox's sour grapes? Why did I apply to those institutes in the first place if they were so bad? I had answers to these questions. Very loud and clear... "How DARE they reject me?"

Did they reject me? Or did I FEEL rejected? And why did I have to feel rejected? Did I really care that much that I was not going there for my further studies? Did I love that institution? NO!!! It was just one thing my ego was saying all along... "I shouldn't have got rejected"

Coming back to the fact that in T9en mode, rejected first reads as selected... Isn't that cue enough for one that selection and rejection are actually 2 sides of the same coin? I get rejected by some institution, it means I'm not fit to get into that institution now. It doesn't mean I'm completely unfit! 

I believe that there is a place for all of us somewhere. We just have to have the right attitude, patience and mindset to work hard to make that cosy place... And never ever stop believing in ourselves!!

Ok, enough of boring and didactic gyaan...  Do one thing... Follow 'megalomaniacism'! Simple!!!