Our life is synonymous with change. It is definitely difficult to incorporate change in the beginning as we are used to doing certain tasks over a long period of time. The other reason is the lack of proper knowledge and experience regarding change that occurs in our life. If one is deeply eager to do something else rather than the routine schedule in life, then I think s/he should give it a try. We can do much better in those tasks which our heart tells us to do. But if one is unable to assimilate with change, it can cause adverse effects too. So, we should think about the pros and cons of change before taking any steps.

— Jhalak Subedi, Kirtipur

n We get used to what we do according to our routine, and feel uneasy to walk into a whole new territory. But it is always better to opt for changes for a good cause rather than stick to old behaviours. I used to think life could be lived the way I wanted to. So, even after completing my BBS I did not start my professional life. I was busy having fun going bald and wearing earrings. All of a sudden, I was introduced to the manager of an educational institute in Pokhara who was in search of an IELTS instructor. After completion of vigorous tests, class observations and students’ feedbacks, I was selected as IELTS instructor. I taught the first two weeks in that institute still bald and wearing earrings. But I started to feel that I was being too rough and decided to change this look of mine. Even though I am still bald and wear earrings, I take off my earrings inside the classroom, and cover my head with a cap. It has definitely helped me get along pretty well with my students and fellow-teachers without being seen as weird.

— Cool Cristofer, Lakeside

n After serving 24 years as a civil servant when my husband retired from his job, we decided to shift to Chitwan from Kathmandu and spend rest of our life there. This was one of the drastic steps that we had taken as a retirement plan. We are enjoying this life and I am proud to make such a change that needs a lot of courage.

Living in this place has been very beneficial from social point of view. While in service we generally become level conscious and make contacts only with limited people. This kind of consciousness makes people cut off from vast majority of common people. Breaking those entire barriers, now we are in contact with people from various walks of life. The widening contact has helped us understand the problems of common Nepali people and the miseries and hardships of life they are leading. Understanding the miseries of the common people, our conscience always propels us to do something good for society so that needy people could be benefited. In this way we have never considered our retirement plan as the end of career rather we are happy that it has paved way to enter us into other venues having multiple options. Which one to catch is entirely individuals’ choice and we have found social service as the best according to our conscience.

— Ambika Pandey,

Chitwan

n It is inevitable to change our lifestyle according to the circumstances where we exist. It will be little difficult to change in which one is habituated, but it is not impossible. Strong determination is required to change our bad habits and adopt socially acceptable behaviour. Till now I have not made any strong decisions to change my habit, though some of my friends are not satisfied with some of my habits. But I feel I must change according to situation and environment.

— Aastak Mahat,

Maitidevi

n Change is a natural process and people need to adapt with changing times and circumstances in order to survive. People who do not accept changes are likely to suffer negative impacts of change. It is true that changing oneself is very difficult . Only daring people accept changes. I was shy by nature and feared talking with people. But as I realised this shyness would create obstruction in my career, I decided to break and throw away this weakness of mine. Finally I started to teach in a primary school. I need to talk to a lot of people and my shy nature began to disappear slowly. I adapted myself to the changing time and gradually broadened my working areas and continuing my studies. This change to which I assimilated myself has now given me recognition and I have a distinct place in my profession.

— Ranju Shrestha

n Life is nothing but a collection of changes. Bhagwat Geeta says “Change is the rule of life”. It is very essential to bring changes in life. It is hard to adapt to the changes but not impossible. I have changed myself with the pace of time. Some years earlier I hated my life and used to feel there was no reason to live. Now I

have learned to live my

life and credit goes to my yoga guru for his words and of course the articles of The Himalayan Times. These days I love my life and every other thing that I hated before. I enjoy every moment and have realised that life is very beautiful. I do not run away from duties and responsibilities and feel there are lots of people who need my help, love and care. I feel happy that I have changed my perception towards life.

— Anjaan Thapa, Banepa

n In this dynamic world, changes occur time and again. Nothing is constant. It is natural that change happens according to time and situation. Man can make change by his firm determination too. A heavy smoker leaves smoking by his own decision though it is very difficult to do so. In this way he changes his career and passes healthy life. Once such change affects him for a long time, he will easily operate his life into a happy one till the end. In my case too, I have a changed from the life of businessman to a teacher. In the beginning, I faced difficulties due to lack adequate skills. I continued in spite of difficulties and later on I was able to learn skills and techniques. Then it became easy in my teaching career.

— Mohan Narshingh Shreatha, Kupondole

n I have taken decisions in my life but none have actually changed my life drastically. The only one I can come up in the recent context is the choice of subjects. Considering my interests, everyone expected me to take up English instead of Maths as the optional subject. I was in a dilemma but after some studying and enquiries about the scope of the related fields, I soon decided that I should take Maths. This not only affected my choice to pursue further education in the science stream but also my percentage in the board exams. So far, it has been helpful but I do not know for how long. Perhaps I would have rather enjoyed English classes but then again I would have never learnt the patience and perseverance from a lengthy Trigonometry sum.

— Rhea Gurung,

Maharajgunj

n Change is a must in everyone’s life. It helps in bringing newness into our lives; in fact change can be the synonym for newness and newness can be both positive and negative. In our lives, changes, sometimes, occur accidentally and sometimes we bring them according to the situation. I have made a lot of changes. Among them one is, while I was studying in Class VIII, I had enough time for my studies as well as for watching TV due to relatively small volume of courses. But as I got promoted to Class IX, I had to give extra time for my studies since the courses had got broader by then. I had to give up watching TV for long periods of time even during holidays. This was definitely a hard change to be brought in my life, it was very difficult for me but since it was for my studies, I did not mind accepting such a positive change for my future.

— Hima Sharma,

Kumaripati

n Recently I made a major change in my life related to my career. I graduated in management a few years ago, since then I have been working for a private firm. Since the day I joined the firm, I was thinking to myself why am I working for others, being a management student I have learned business theories and concepts and I wondered why I cannot apply the same skill to do something of my own? But it was not easy for a middle class person like me as it requires a lot of fund to start any business. After working three years for others, I decided to work for myself. I started my own clothing business and I am happy to work for myself. Moreover, I have built self-confidence and self-respect. Now I am financially strong in comparison to my earlier days. My way of thinking has been changed and I have become creative and more sincere in my work. Now I know how an employer should treat his employees, which directly affect their productivity in workplace.

— Bhaskar Adhikari, Gongabu 3