Still a teen!

No more today do we the friends of our generation boast of a certain mindset or self-belief – nothing is impossible in life.

That is, however, not a much change from the thinking of our late teenage, the beginning of university days.

Change that has taken place in us is we turn nostalgic as against dreams we tried to pursue in those days.

A bright career, altruistic actions, building a sound family, contributing to a dignified society, a peaceful democratic Bangladesh – are some of the dreams of our contemporaries.

What we often rue about that time is the aim to ‘become’ something that ultimately serves the purpose of self-aggrandisement.

Experience exposes weaknesses of flawed education: Such ‘me-centric’ drive by individuals of generation after generation has created a world of selfish people and indifference to other social beings.

Despite mistakes and limitations, I understand we were youth full of promises, protagonists of cultural refinement. Many, we see, in their late 40s and early 50s, are still romantic about pursuit of goals, hoping changes to whatever they love to bring about.

Seeing a restless boy on the campus, like I was 25 years ago, I smile, not just because he looks innocent, but because I can read my similarities with him.

The dreams of a Bangladeshi university student now may be extension of ours but their mistakes may be new ones and added to ours. We are appalled to hear they are concerned about their future.

We’ve failed to ask our leaders what kind of a country they are leaving for us.

I ask myself what the faults of our next generations are that they will have to pay for egoistic acts of the leaders of earlier generations.

Finding hardly any solution to the crisis of the nation, many give in and look for some sort of relief elsewhere, shifting from what are ideally called sacred duties.

When we cannot go back to our tender age, we closely watch our dreams in our children.

Instead of denying the impossibilities, we now look for what is possible in life. Aging doesn’t stop the heart when you have others around.