A year to remember

A new year, a new beginning, new plans and determination, a day to celebrate happiness, joy and this wonderful life. With these thoughts I decided to celebrate and welcome 2062. The evening before we headed towards a restaurant, which was not quite far from our home.

Celebration was in the air! The atmosphere in the restaurant was so alive and exhilarating that I easily got carried away with the pulsating music and wonderful crowd dancing and laughing away to glory. After some time the heat inside made me walk out to catch some fresh air.

It seemed a different world outside, quiet and tranquil. I sat down on the stairs looking at the passers-by huffing and hustling about their daily duties. As I sat there watching people move around I noticed a man in his mid-fifties, carrying heavy sacks on his back, just managing to take one stumbling step at a time. So much for New Year’s Eve for him, I thought. Then came a small group of street children, dressed in torn and tattered clothes peering greedily inside the restaurant where people were enjoying themselves.

These sights really made me think. For them New Year’s Eve was just another hard day of work and uncertainty. It was then I realised how difficult it must be for people who cannot afford even one scanty meal a day. For them life is a burden which they have to carry from one year to another without any improvement. It does not make any difference to them whether it is New Year’s Eve or any other special day.

Until now I hadn’t appreciated the importance of money and what it is to live a good life! These people made me realise how fortunate I was to have loving parents, a comfortable and cosy home, good food to eat and nice clothes to wear.

While we were spending money on useless things, many people were struggling for just one meal a day. Let’s make a new start this year. Let’s help and reach out to those in need. Giving big donations isn’t the only way of helping, but it’s the small efforts that count. Bringing a smile on just a single face can bring joy to many, which New Year celebrations in some posh restaurant cannot bring.

Lending a hand and showing a path to someone is a duty that each human being should fulfil. Let’s expand the horizons of our minds and exclude selfishness. Let’s make a resolution to reach out and change lives for better. Let’s all work hand in hand with all our hearts to make this year a year to remember.

— Manisha Shrestha,

St Mary’s High School