the first hello!

Tall , smart and handsome ; Aryan seemed to have everything.
Sophisticated , sensitive and stylish ; Aryan was a delight.
He was talented and bright.A great sense of humour livened up things wherever he went.

Years ago he had moved away and had rejoined his old school after a few years .
Not only it was a an educational change for him ,it was also a culture shock ! He was not really used to so many rules and regulations.He began to break some of them and challenge those who had imposed them .It was simply for the want of anything better to do.When he was reprimanded ,he began to feel hurt ;to counter his feeling hurt ,he began to create a distance between himself and other people .He was also not used to such a void in his life that was a result of the lack of music in his life.In his last school he had been the member of a rock band.

Music fulfilled him.It was part of his identity ...who he was.
Now without music he was lost.He became quiet an introvert keeping withinhis circle of close friends.He became less confident of his own self.He did not want any more to expose his innermost feelings to anyone so this sensitive young boy cloaked his true nature behind a veil of aloofness.He lived with his new self for such along time that he began to feel comfortable in his new skin.

Aryan was truly a star but he hid his brilliace from everyone.... including himself !
A boy whose greatest pleasure once lay in being onstage and playing the drums began to fear being on stage.It was such a gradual change that no body saw it or commented on it.Even those closest to him took his laidback nature for granted.He took an interest in everything but from a distance.....emotional ,physical & intellectual distance.Even this way he could not turn himself in a nobody.The twinkle in his eye and the shyness of his spontaneous grin would act like a magnet !

Even now he was popular and well liked.He was pushed again and again to take centre stage.
One fine day he realized that he was to speak a few words on the stage.He was ok till he realised that he was afraid to hold the mic and say those few words .Ironic...the boy who could once hold an audience enthralled could not now even hold a mic!

Public speaking is a brave thing ...always.But this time it was even a braver thing as this teenager fought against his very own personal hesitations and mind blocks .He understood that he had travelled a long distance and lost the sense of his true self.From that day he began the journey that he was to undertake to regain his own confident and live-wire self.
Aryan took the first step .He went walked to the center of the stage , picked up the mic and spoke.....his first hello to his new self!
He would go on to speak ....sing ...and play his beloved drums too...

to propose or not to propose!

Vivan was in love.Vivan wanted to propose to the girl of his dreams.Vivan was scared as scared could be.


He was what one would call a late bloomer.When the boys his age were experiencing the first jolt of their hormones and calling it love for want of a better word, he was experiencing the same feelings ,but he was experiencing them for his first desk top.When boys his age were learning to live with their hormones and experimenting with what they called relationships ,for the want of a word they knew;he was learning the joys and wonders of modern technology.When boys his age were learning to differentiate between love and lust ,he was enjoying learning to differentiate between the subtle nuances of Linux and windows.


Since he was impervious to it all ,the adolescent roller coaster of teenage emotions generated by juvenile feelings passed him by.He grew up to be a young man who knew that the world was full of wonders that one can gaze at !


And wonder of all wonders ,as he began to gaze at the wonders all created by god ,as opposed to wonders created by man ,he realized that that the wonder of all wonders was woman.In fact ,it was one particular woman.


The better he knew her the more fascinated he was , and within a space of a few months he not only covered all the milestones that he had not ; in the last ten years and arrived at what he could classify as love.


Now what?


Vivan went through all his life experience.Nothing had prepared him for this.


He did not know what to do!


Suddenly all was spring ,he began to understand romantic melodies,that god had created every living being in pairs and here was his soul mate ,not looking at him.She looked but did not know all that passed within his heart.


He was plunged into sadness and found no way out.The only way out was to tell her how he felt.That was tough.Clammy palms and sweating brow never did stop a man from reaching his destination.This time it did.


The object of his desire felt that he had suddenly developed a fever and took him to a doctor like the good friend she was.The next day,he managed to find an opportunity again to talk to her .Unfortunately ,he had no romantic language,so his proposal seemed to be an offer for a job or probably a merger,since none of them were yet business tycoons , she offered to take him to a doctor...again! The third day he managed to corner her again ,however the office romeo butted in , and he flirted outrageously with the one he loved and he was ready to kick butt or run away.
Well ,he ran away.


Vivan acknowledged to himself that not only was he scared to speak his mind ,he was also most unprepared for what he could say or do to make the right kind of impact on her.The only thing that offered him comfort was his laptop ,his companion and friend.


Pulling his wits about him he began to compose the first romantic e mail of his life.He grinned as he hit the send button!

high school blues...

A high school , classes ,teachers , students , learning ,playing ...and ups and downs.

A high school senior ready to take his place in the world ,a keen sports man who wanted nothing more than to be his schools sports captain

....all his life has been a preparation for this goal, a building up towards this one moment, a dream that will come to life..

Passion ,ambition and adventure; these had been the keywords of Ryan ' s life.He wanted it all...

excitement ,recognition and success ,

but most of all he wanted to be the sports captain of his school!

He had dreamt of this almost all his life with expectation and enthusiasm,but sometimes his enthusiasm had taken him beyond the expectation of others and he had ended up doing things which were on the borderline of what was permissible ,so he had been sliding in and out of trouble .He had no idea what his teachers thought of him ,what the head teacher thought of him .He only had this idea that one day when he is a senior he will be the sports captain of his school.

The appointed day arrived.

He learnt that there were many black marks against him.

He also learnt that his past as a sports man did not make a difference.

He learnt that there are thing that he had never considered but others considered them significant enough.

He learnt that his desire and dream were to be shattered.

He learnt first hand about disappointment.

He learnt that he was not going to be the sports captain of his school.

Anger..raw burning anger tore his guts.He did not know what he did that day.

Then anger gave way to a desperation that was a raw wound within his heart.

Then the desperation settled into a dull throbbing pain of disappointed hopes.

Many days went by...so did nights.

A distinct sense of the unreality of it all was with him.

Life is exciting ....sometimes ;and sometimes disappointing.It is a roller coaster of events , a maelstorm of emotions.

Life presents itself in various ways.

What matters is how one reacts to the given situation.Ryan did not give up his belief in himself,he thought

if not this than there are many other ways in which i can be who i meant to be.'

He decided that it did not matter whether he had not attained his dream,

what mattered was that he had many other dreams to attain.

And he moved on...with life ,without giving up his unique enthusiasm for LIFE.

No one can make me a winner, i am one if i think i am '

and he knew it for true!

dare to be different !

Brought up in the the traditional way , in the midst of a loving and an old fashioned family , Sanya was growing up to be a sweet and kind young lady.A beautiful person both in thought and action , a friend who would be always there for her friends ,a daughter who would never do anything to hurt her family.
soon it was time for her to go out in the wide world and learn who she was and what she wanted.She began with her college ,she found enjoyment in the arena of higher studies as well as with a group of new friends who made learning with them so much fun!

And then there was this guy....her friend probably her best friend !
They had so much in common that they could spend hours just talking to each other about the least important things ;as easily they could share the toughest of life's problems.They could be more than friends...truly they could be soul mates.

But....it shouldn't be so .Because of reasons beyond them...family ,tradition ,community , society...

One fine day she faced this great dilemma which threatened her very peace.Her very best friend claimed more than friendship...in fact he wanted it all ....love..passion and a life together.This was a dilemma she had hoped never to face ,now not only she had to face it but resolve it too.

Each path is as difficult to take as the other one ;does she rebel against her family values to embrace a young man from a different religion to hurt her family or does she hurt this young man who feels that the sun rises not in the east but her eyes....

Will she make her heart listen to her soul and force her family to hear it too or will her love be a distant memory ...
both the decisions imply immense courage...

Chasing poverty!

Immensely talented and dedicated...yet the first thing one would notice about him is passion...
not just about his profession but about the state of the world that we live in.

To create that which is meaningful and true...to make a difference...to make a better living possible..not just for himself ,but for the world....
he is a man who holds a dream close to his heart.


A photographer by profession,an idealist by temperament;let me call him PS.

He has talent ,zeal & dedication.Three attributes that spell success in any language.

Success...as in cash and kind.....success as in a materialistic world..

.However he began to roam the world,working in the harshest of conditions ,most of them man made ,began to perceive the suffering and began to understand the global problems . He saw that we lived in a world in which half the people were suffering and the other half were not even aware of it.


This man would not be at rest.In spite of all his difficulties in his personal life,he persists in going to all the troubled and terrible places.Not just because it is a job like any other but because he has the courage of his conviction.He understands that the way out of all human problems lies in creating awareness and bringing information to the uninformed ,the uninitiated & the ignorant.He will do it.



Floods..earthquakes...fires....real human suffering draws him in order to find an expression.
in a world populated mainly by people who are in the rat race to earn cold cash ,here is man chasing poverty in order to make the earth a better place...
i call him a hero..

when the earth moved...

Chen tried to sit up ,she couldn't.She tried to stretch her arms ,she couldn't.She tried to move her feet ,she couldn't.She wanted to scream but she could hardly breathe.Her arms and legs were strangely twisted ;and they seemed to be pinned under her.Her one good eye was trying to make some sense out of the rubble and debris that were all around her.She could not recall what had happened for her to be here,trapped under the broken down roof of her school.It was her school...wasn't it?

She had woken up like any other day,got dressed and had gone to school...and after that....there seemed to be a gap in her memory.

The floor had shook and so had the walls...the windows had shook and so had the doors ...

before she had looked around for her friend,something had hit her and she could not breathe.

She had choked,she could hardly breathe now...

She was afraid..extremely afraid.

She began to cry...after a while when the tears had dried on her dirt streaked wounded face ..she began to think...she was hungry ,thirsty ,in excruciating pain...yet she thought of her mother and her little brother ...where would they be ? She hoped they were safe,she also hoped they were trying to find her.

She was scared but she tried to think of the things which would help her , she was sure there were people outside who were all right and who were looking for her.She knew her mother would not go home without her.She thought of last night 's dinner when she had teased her younger brother.

Chen remembered how she had been laughing at what the teacher had said in the morning.She thought how she would share this with her class....

She hoped she would be able to...she did not lose hope..and courage..
i call her a hero.

R E W I N D @ G U T S !

Jessica is a good scholar.She has good study habits.She is one of those people who study on their own with pleasure.She is comfortable with herself and her academic achievements....or i should say she was .At the moment she is apprehensive and scared.What brought her to this state is the past year...
The past one year was tough to say the least.She had appeared for her public exams ,handled them well ,scored well , appeared in her competitive exams .She is planning to be an engineer , not an easy task .It means two years of study , than appear in an exam to get into an institute .Than five years of study to earn a degree .Than two years of study to do specialisation.


Definitely not an easy task.But one she was all set for.However it did not happen. She failed to get in an institute of her choice .Now she realised that a vast ocean of indifference stretched between her and the rest of the world..they could not understand her feelings.She was alone, truly alone.When you succeed there are many to share in that success but when you fail ...You stand alone.She floundered in a quicksand of indecisiveness , loneliness and sheer desperation..


"tough luck "said her companions and moved on ,"part of life "said her parents and went about the business of day to day living ,"think of other options now "said her teachers and went about correcting new term papers....
"I will try again "said this determined girl and went about the difficult job of beginning from the scratch.
To try again....implies courage ,determination and will power...it also implies criticism from some derision from others...it also means having an unshakable belief in one's own vision and capabilities.Many a nights she was so scared of future that she could not sleep a wink ; many a days she was so wound up that she was unable to eat a bite .But give up...she would not!

She would not give up....she would not...and that's what makes her a winner in my book.
It does not matter how many times you fall down ,what matters is how many times you get up....for that is true courage !

memory!

She was a dreamer............a soft hearted-sentimental-sweet-sensitive dreamer .
He was a doer....a fast moving - practical minded - smart -sophisticated doer .
If opposites attract...than yes they did!They spent countless hours together ,talking and talking some more.She was fascinated...he was fascinating ; he was loved...she was loving.

He would speak about beautiful things,she would dream of them.He would speak of passion,she would feel it.He would speak of future , she would imagine it ,in wonder ful vivacious colors.However ,never did he make a promise...but she read so many of them in his not making of them!

It was not to be ,and it wasn't .

He moved on ... not a single tear shed ,the world was full of hearts which were not yet conquered ,he was being true to his own nature.

She could not go on ... not a single day dry-eyed , the world was full of memories which were not yet forgotten, she was being true to her own nature.

From here ,they went their different ways.His way was easy ,hers difficult.She cried for a few days,existed in a dream like state,gave way to day dreams that he would come back to her ,gave up those day dreams and broke her heart all over again.

Courage to live on..alone..find someone else with time..courage to heal herself...courage to forget ...and courage to forgive...to let go of the past ,to separate the good memories from the bad...to stop hurting and to start living..

courage to live with memories...she found it all...so i call her a hero.

the boy who had to grow up too early.

This is a true story.This is not my story but it affected me.Here was this boy ,stubborn,headstrong and somewhat spoilt .He was the centre of his family's existence.Doted on by a loving father,pampered by an adoring mother, cared for by all others.Let me call him Raoul.

He was loved and he knew it.He was the apple of his dad's eyes and he knew it.He was the darling of his mom and he knew it.He was growing up,safe & secure , in his world .When he wanted a toy , all he needed to do was ask!Sometimes not even ask..what would his parents not do just to see him smile.

Life was fun...life was a joy and life was easy!

Sadly ...not for long.

Suddenly all the love that he had known disappered.

The life he had known vanished.

He lost his father.. to a sudden death .

He lost his mother...in a manner of saying... to a terrible grief.

After a while his mother began to pick up the pieces of her life but it wasnt an easy job for her.Raoul felt lonely ,helpless and insecure.He would feel like this for months to come.....probably years.

Raoul gave in extreme temper tantrums..he was angry and violent with all the world...with god...with life itself.

Negativity & pessimism and a barely controlled temper were his constant companions.His mom would come out of her grief...look at him and would be heartbroken even more.

One day he came out of the haze..dazedness he was existing in since the day he had lost his father.For the first time in months he looked at his mother...that is really looked.What he saw shattered him even more....he spent the night thinking.

After a long look at his mother and a longer night two thoughts had taken possession of his mind.One, he would have to stop grieving ;two , he would have to star living...If he wanted the rest of his family to live too.

This would not only mean determination on his part but also

courage...an amazing amount of courage.

The next day it was time for a balanced , responsible and caring Raoul to wake up...and he did..

so i call him....a hero...

the boy who would not be disciplined...

This is a true story.

Not mine..but mine to tell...perhaps...

Martin had a deep contempt for all authority.He found release only in doing things that would flout authority.If a rule said that he should cut his hair short,he would grow them long.And if the same rule would be amended to say that he should have his hair long,he would go for a bald look!

A passionate sportsman... he loved to be out on the basketball court,and managed to stay there the whole day...well off course , he was supposed to be in class! But he would not be where he was supposed to be .

So there.He also asked a lot of questions...why was a favourite word.Now if there is one word that can rile parents ,teachers and adults alike is not the 'four letter word 'as you would assume but the three letter word-why.All his community was abuzz with the 'discipline' issues that surrounded him.He was punished often.The more he was reprimanded ,the more he rebelled.He collected the detention slips as other people collect CDs. A host of complaints followed him ,along with his friends and admirers.He s fairly articulate and had a lot to say..

I wont mess with anyone if they wont mess with me.why should i only do what i am told to do ? why can't i clearly object if i don't agree with something?why do i have to think according to others?

What if his issue was never discipline but individual thought which did not allow him to conform?What if his Mohawk was not an act of defiance but an act of individuality?

Martin went through a thorough self examination and looked into all the hidden nooks and corners of his heart.He knew his priorities now.Success , wealth ,a good life & happiness topped the list of his priorities .Discipline in his life would be prerequisite.

He made a choice....

learned a new life the first demand of which was discipline....

the boy who could not be disciplinedby coercion would be disciplined by choice!

He would join the merchant navy...by his own choice...he would be his own man...always.

The sky is the limit !

let me tell you a story
this not my story
but its a story that wants telling
there was a girl i knew
....i remember her as a shy girl...
let me call her Priya.
She belonged to a very conservative family.A family that was bound to its tradition and values,it was a family that believed that the rightful place of a girl is at home,a family that believed that the girls even though educated should never breakout of the charmed circle of the family.

Priya ,being a good and a sensible girl always went along with the beliefs of her family.She knew they loved her well and wanted just to protect her.While she was living her life being practical ,good and sensible; her heart was unfolding its own dream to her..

Within the core of a heart there was an ambition that fit nowhere in the life that she was brought up to lead,this is what she had to say...neither do i want to be a teacher or a scholar nor an engineer.What i want to do is fly...is it possible?

It wasn't possible.There was no other thought in her mind ,no other desire in her heart.All her life she had been a girl who would be accompanied by family wherever she went.Even for school outings she had had to take special permission!

What happened later is what matters most..

Priya was true to her ambition.She flew to the US to learn to fly!

And she would be a pilot...she would fly...

So i call her...my hero...

The boy who would be a man.

Casual,clumsy, lazy & easygoing were some of the words that Aashwin would use to descibe himself,and that too when he was being generous.
Let me tell you who he is...
A young boy who would get out of bed or from his favourite sofa only when his favourite snack would run out of easy access,then he would take a few lazy steps to the family refrigerator ,gather his supplies only to trudge back to his sofa & settle in front of the TV.

He went to school without the requisite text books but armed with all kinds of candy!
He would make fun of all that he could with a sharp witty humour...for inspite of all his efforts to hide it ,his fine intellect would show.Beneath the cynical exterior ,there was a rich mind ,an idelistic temperament & a quite emotion.
An emotion that would encompass not only his immediate friends & family but also all his countrymen...his nation.

The spark was there...
It was yet to turn into flame...
One day he encountered himself...he asked himself ...it was at the age of sixteen..when the rest of his schoolmates were acting silly over girls , i pods & boozing.
This is what he had to say..

Am i only that i seem to myself and to others?Why is it that i am concerned over larger issues ?Why am i not like the others who can not look beyond themselves?
Why cant i just let go ..not think the way i think?
.....If i can be myself...passionate,patriotic,real....really myself.

After days of agonising over it,thinking and thinking some more,he straightened out the intricacies of his own mind.From now on he would be ..the person he was meant to be.
Ashwin worked out like crazy...gave up on the candies he loved so much...he knew that he was going to serve his nation ,his people & his idealism.
He did exactly what he sat out to do,It took a lot of determination,courage & hard work.

The boy who would be a man..and an officer & a gentleman!

so i call him...my hero..

YEAH...GIRL,YOU CAN !

This is a true story.This is not my story.But it has affected me. A girl comes to the big bad city to study & work hard at forging a bright future for herself.Let me call her Mynah.

She is talented , intelligent & confident.She holds her own in a new school and a new city.She makes friends ...and settles to her study.

Mynah knows her mind.She has made many tough decisions .She has a worried yet supportive father, a sick but caring mother and a loving family ..back home.

A girl who has her & a strong desire to fulfil the dreams of all her loved ones.She feels that she must accomplish many a things for those who are waiting for her back home.However she began to feel the stress...

i m so confused....i dont know what i want...i dont want to write anymore exams...i am not up to it...i feel lack of confidence...i feel incapable...n sad...all d tym....do i give up?

This is what she had to say.Mynah is a strong girl.With her is the strength of her family and all those who love her.Apart from that she is capable ,competent and confident enough to take on the world.Stumbling within the dark corridors of insecurities of her own creation,she made herself sick with worry...doubting herself each step of the way.One day she decided to give it all up & return home..

The fact that she did not give in to her insecurities,the fact that decided to be true to her own self and the fact that she found her own way is what makes her a winner.Who amongst us does not suffer anxiety ,worry &self doubt?How many amongst us battle it so bravely each step of the way to emerge believing in ourselves.She did so....

so i call her...my hero.

Math-o-phobia

This is a true story.This is not my story.But in a way i was a part of it.There is a girl.Let me call her Renee.She was the youngest in her family.All her family was composed of bright and accomplished scholars.Her dad was an engineer,so was her elder brother.;and her elder sister was pursuing an MD.And then came along this girl who had a flair for languages,creative writing,dramatics....dance.You name it ,she had it.Yes she had it all,all that did she had did not matter to her.All that mattered to her ,she did not have,that is a proficiency in maths.

She had,her family spoke of it as they would of a disease, a problem with math.

In other circumstances it would have been pardonable,but in hers it was criminal.Her family pushed her,scolded her,taunted her,coached her...in fact they did all they could to help her.Nothing worked.Her final exams approached..so did her apprehensions.

This is what she had to say

all my friends had a grip on themselves.mom & dad were crazy with worry.bhaiya would be helpful one minute nasty the other.Right after the exam ,i knew it well that i would not get the kind o' marks everyone was expecting.Noway.

Now what...i toyed with the idea o' an overdose ...sleeping pills possibly.

Days would blend into nights and nights into days and the idea o'killing myself became stronger....just before the result.n that was the day after...

She thought the night through.She realized she loved her life more than anything else.And even if she did badly in one subject ,she was at par with others.

What happened the next day is why i call her my hero...

She brought a result home which didnt have good marks in maths ,faced her parents &told them that she wanted to read humanities in her graduate study.And she did.With her head held high.In fact...excelled.

conquering rage...

This is a true story .This is not my story.However it was told to me.This is about a boy .Let me call him Ron.Ron was 12.He was headstrong,egoistic,and to top it all an intellectual.He would not have found life easy.Those who think,they never do.To add to his trouble,he was popular too.

Yet he went about thinking his thoughts,speaking his mind & generally getting into trouble as boys sometimes do!One day in school...he was chastised quite seriously for a most stupid prank...absolutely foolish & silly.

The downside was that he thought that it was OK.He began to develop a strong negative image of his own self.He began to do even more stupid things that would land him in more trouble.Now

Ron would now easily be enraged over the smallest of things & say the nastiest things to the closest of his people.

This continued .It grew into a pattern.In Ron's words...

i realized my anger n rage were turning into my own enemies...the upside was that i could still analyze that it was own dark side that was eating into my happiness.My only release was my passion for my game...it sustained me...

Then i came to grade 11,here none of my past was brought out of closet.i could be who i wanted to be...i also found a girl who was willing to be with me..despite my angry outbursts,at times.

in fact ,she could stand up to me yet be on my side.

The breakthrough was when Ron had be able to use his mind & analyse what had gone wrong in his life .He began to find physical release through hours of playing.

He read extensively.He worked hard at understanding his own self.He spoke openly with friends .He decided he neede to make a change in affirmation of all that is positive.

He needed determination & courage to learn anger management.He did....

So i call him...my hero.

DREAMS OR DOLLARS ?

This is a true story.This is not my story.But i saw it unfolding right in front of my eyes.This is about a young man just out of high school.Let me call him Arnie.

He is an easy and a laid back person.Someone who does not lose his cool easily.However today he stands at the crossroads ....which way now...both are difficult....both have their positives & negatives....

He is a person of many attributes...many dimensions...capable of many things...and he has yet to discover all that he is capable of.He s witty and smart.Arnie is passionate about music,he strums a guitar & he s a vocalist.In his hometown ,community and family ; it is not really hot.What matters is that he take a profession that is sensible & staid.He 's meant for a rich life,not only a cash -rich life,but a life rich in variety..diversity ...talents...interests and attributes.A real life...not one in which ascholar may cloister himself with books and books alone!

However the community,society & family tells him this again and again...A passion is not appreciated but a regular routine paying job is....Now what will he do.?
What choice will he make?

Giving up music means giving up a passion ...a dream ; not giving up would mean bringing sadness and insecurity to those who love him; pursuing both would mean drawing up on a lot of courage...emotional,physical& spiritual.So will it be his passion or his family that he will put first or find a way to balance them both?

Whatever he does,it is a difficult choice.
To make such a decision courage and love are needed.

He has them both....so i call him my hero..

surviving heartache

This is a true story.this is not my story.

However i was a witness to this.there is

this girl;bright,smart & good at studies.

let me call her Serena.She is not only fun to be with but at the same time trustworthy & loyal...in short a good friend.

One of the guys in her group was quite popular . .He was lazy & laidback.He had the capacity to laugh at everything ,including real emotion.

He had a girl friend ,then had another,then another....& managed to laugh at them all ...specially after breaking up.

Unfortunately Serena too was in love with him.She stayed with him through thick n thin..gave him notes when he missed a class ,covered for him when he goofed up.He went about life in his relaxed manner...moving from one relationship to other..two-timing ..looking around.Then during a moment of feeling bad for himself,he spoke to her about his deepest feelings,she had a choice.To be one of his endless' girls'..or to be his good & loyal friend.

She from brought from within ..a maturity more than her years,an innate courage to resist & her desire to be a true friend won.Never for a moment she let that sparkling smile vanish.He needed a friend more than a love, and she would be that what he needed!

To let go of one's first love requires an amazing courage.....

that's why i call her my hero...

A winner all the way...

This is a true story.
This is not my story .

I was a witness to this...
let me call it ..

A shot of Courage...

let me call him Rob,this young boy..

bright,vivacious,ready to take on all challenges that life would throw his way.

He was a raw bundle of energy.He wanted excitement ...absolute total excitement in everything,in classroom,in relationships,and in life.

A moment of boredom was an eternity.
Rob was in grade 10,had managed to avoid parental checks on most occasions and spent his free time with his friends.He became the one who would challenge all his friends to try most new things...things that promised excitement.

Bike rides,wild dates,bunking school,smoking on the sly and finally alchohal!
It added a zing to an otherwise not so "happening"days.
Before he realized it he became hooked to this high.
Why i call him my hero is because of what happened later...one fine day he found himself at the doctors'
this is what he had to say..
ROB'S STORY
i had almost lost ma lyf..last nyt i was wid friends n we were drinking steadily..i dunno bout 'em but i was high..n i was on dis bike n speedin along da expressway..n it was fun.At least before i crashed it was.
it shouldn't have happened, but it had.i realized somethin there n then.da doc had no cure for me,the only person who had a cure was ME.i needed to change..ma lyf n maself,i thought just before i closed ma eyes .i decided to find a way out.some days were bad,nights worst..i had a pain dat refused to go away...but i would not give in.

Rob got back to school, picked up the pieces of his life .He became involved with community activities ,theatre and other action groups.He had demanded excitement from life but didn't know where to look for it.Now he looked in the right places.
He was was sometimes on the verge of breaking but he didn't break.
Courage,determination and a belief in his own self...he made it.

i call him my hero...