Welcome back to the series where I review TEDx videos and write takeaways from them. This video is titled “Message from the future generations by Ishita Katyal.” Ishita was ten when she spoke about this topic, and I got inspired by the narration and clarity of thoughts.
Ishita starts with the statement, “There is so much inspiration around our world.” To explain further, Ishita, shares her source of inspirations like fiction books, art and crafts, favorite YouTubers, amazing music videos, and a furry boom toy that is like her pet. All the inspiration around her helps create and generate new ideas. It also motivates her to do something unique like writing school notes on PostIt, writing songs, learning favorite school topics, and decorating her bookshelf. All these actions may appear trivial, but performing them has instilled a lot of creativity, motivation and generated a lot of happiness. She also talks about her book, Simran’s Diary, that she wrote and published. The book was about a girl named Simran, who goes through an adventurous life with many twists and turns with her family, and finally fulfills her dreams.
Children should be encouraged to do what they like, and I am 100% on board with this. My parents give me a lot of freedom and support me to do what I want to. She also states that girls should be encouraged more. I agree with this, and parents should really not differentiate kids based on the gender and provide equal opportunities worldwide. Every child is born without fear, and parents instill fear (particularly in girl children) controlling them on basic things like what to wear and what not to wear, where to go, and where not to. This fear of not doing certain things discourages a child from following their creative interests and likings. A cycle occurs when children are encouraged; when children are supported. They tend to do something creative, which makes the child happy, and the parents are also happy for them. But if children are not encouraged, the same cycle becomes just the opposite.
Ishita also said that kids already have many ideas and instead of asking them what they want to be when they grow up, ask what they want to be now. She rightly states that age is just a number, and no one should be judged based on how old they are. We can do a lot in this moment and the present. Our potential is limitless, and we have the power to achieve many accomplishments before our adulthood, and it is a choice whether we use it or not. The problem is, our world has many forces working against the dreams of children.
I generally write takeaways in my blog. In this case, Ishita personally calls out and mentions four worries that bother her the most. I am jotting this as is in her own words: –
1. Children are losing their childhood at an early age. Parents do not have time for their children as they are busy trying to build a nest for the future.
2. Education – The child is made to focus on the examinations that are coming in the future. In this process, kids forget to enjoy the current moments. Perhaps if we are focusing on the right thing now, the future will take care of itself.
3. Natural Resources: The natural resources are depleting today, and in the future, children might be deprived of basic needs like hunger. How can a child think creative when their basic needs are not met?
4. War and rivalry: People are becoming angry and short-tempered, and children become what they see around adults. Instead of going to war with countries, we can think twice and create a friendship with them, which is better overall.
5. Increasing school fee of many schools:
School fees are increasing every year, and at this rate, parents have to spend a fortune on their child’s education. Education is the fundamental right for every kid, and no one should be deprived of this.
Thank you for reading today’s episode, and I hope all of you have a great day! Please do post your comments and encourage me to write further
Link for the video-