Be Hopeful About the Future

AC - Story Telling (Project IV)
The Touching Story
October 31st, 2008

I want all of you to close your eyes for a few seconds. Now, think about the worst thing that ever happened to you in your life ... Something that was a huge loss to you. Something, that made you to regret. For example, a lost job, a strained relationship or lost money.

You may now open your eyes. We all would've had at least one such bad thing that happened to us, in our life, which had a lasting impact on us. Whenever such bad things happen, we have two options. We can think about it again & again and continue to worry about it till the end of our life. Or, we can forget about it and be HOPEFUL about the future.
Today, I'm going to share a real story. I read this story recently in a magazine. This story is about a person called Naresh who became successful, just because he didn't lose HOPE, when a terrific incident happened in his life.

Childhood

Naresh was born in a village in Southern India. His father is a truck driver and his mother is a housewife. His parents were illiterate. It was 1993, and Naresh was 6 years old at that time. He was fair and a bit tall. He had very beautiful eyes and lots of hair. He was very naughty and he used to run all around the house playing with his friends. At the same time, he was smart. He did very well in his studies. His parents had high hopes about Naresh's future.

Accident

It was January 11, 1993, the fateful day. Naresh and his parents were ready to go to a nearby village for a family function. They got a ride in Naresh's father's friend's truck. The front cabin didn't have much space. Naresh was made to sit close to the door.

The elders were busy talking about something. Naresh was playing with the truck door's latch. All of a sudden, the door opened wide & threw him out. He was lucky enough to survive the accident. Nothing happened to him but his legs were severely injured. He was immediately admitted to a government hospital.

The doctors in the government hospital treated his wounds & bandaged his legs. He was there in the hospital for a week. When the doctors removed his bandage they were shocked. They found that the tissues in his legs were decayed because of insufficient blood supply. Naresh was immediately rushed to a district hospital. The doctors in the district hospital examined his legs. The doctors didn't have any option than to amputate his legs. In no time, both his legs were cut off up to the hips.

Naresh woke up after the surgery. He had lots of pain. He pulled over his covers and was shocked to see that his legs were missing. He asked his mother, "Mom! Where are my legs?" His mother burst into tears. She doesn't know what to tell her little son. Naresh was in the hospital for three months.


Return to Home

The day Naresh reached his village, his house was flooded with curious people; all of them wanted to know how a boy without legs looked. But he was not bothered. He was just happy to see all of them, after a long time.
Life without Legs

Naresh got admission in a near by school. His sister was also put in the same class though she is two years older. His parent thought she could take care of Naresh if both of them were in the same class. Naresh's sister never complained. Naresh was so lucky to have such a loving sister. She carried him in the school for a few years and after a while, his friends took over the task. All his friends saw to it that Naresh was part of all the games they played; they carried him everywhere.
Through out his childhood days, Naresh didn't lose hope. He was very confident that he can lead a successful life. He wanted to be an engineer when he grows up.

Life at IIT- Madras

Time ran fast. Naresh completed his high school education. He got good grades. He decided to join an engineering college. He got admission into one of the premier educational institutes in India - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Naresh felt privileged to study with some of the brilliant students in the country.

The world is full of good people

Naresh got help from total strangers without him asking for it. He got new friends, who took care of him during his college days. There were people who were taking care of his hostel and college fees.

Naresh's college had in fact arranged a lift and built some ramps at the Computer Science department for him. His fellow college mates got him a powered wheel chair, so that, he can move around the campus on his own. His life changed after that. He felt free and independent.

Internship/Job Offer

While he was doing his college, he got an opportunity to come to Boston to do his internship. After completing his studies he got a job offer from one of the leading technology giants in the industry - Google. Today, Naresh is working in Google's Bangalore office.

Be Hopeful

Think about it for a moment. What would you do, if the same thing had happened to you? What if you had lost both of your legs? Will you be what you are today? Naresh has proven that "if you are HOPEFUL & motivated, nothing can really stop your success". Quite often in life, we face bad circumstances. Are those circumstances, really bad like the one faced by Naresh. If Naresh can achieve something in life, you can too. Believe in yourself & be HOPEFUL about the future. Nothing can stop you from achieving your goals.