Don’t become a fool while trying to look cool!

Chimp as his name suggests was the monkey of his class. And just like other monkeys, he was always on the lookout of what others were doing. He wanted to become a star and stay in the limelight but ironically always followed the herd mentality. He always needed validation of others to keep his self-esteem intact. Chimp’s parents were worried about his bad grades. They knew his nature of copying others so they decided to use it to their advantage. Chimp’s mother remarked, “You are known by the company you keep”. So she advised him to become friends with class toppers. Chimp was not so keen on the idea. However as soon as his mother promised him a cricket kit if he scores well, Chimp hurried off to his class topper Champ’s house. Champ was taking a bath so Chimp sat with his mother and started probing her about Champ’s study secrets. Champ’s mother was more than happy to oblige. Soon Champ came and both the kids got busy discussing their upcoming exams.

All of a sudden, Chimp received a Facebook message and jumped with joy. He excitedly told Champ, “They finally accepted my request and made me a part of their gaming circle”. Champ enquired, “Who are they? How do you know them?” Chimp replied, “I don’t know. They are some gamers from Russia. But soon we all will become good friends and ace this game together”. And true to monkey nature, his forgot all about his upcoming exams and went off to play his new game.

Later that evening, Champ’s mother also excitedly came to him after receiving an email which claimed that she has won a 10 million dollars lottery. Champ laughed and replied, “All these people are fraud. One should never trust strangers online. More often than not, they are out there to harm us.” His mother gave him a wise smile and said, “I know that. And I am happy that you also know. However what I fail to understand is why you didn’t give this same advice to Chimp. I know you both are not best of friends but still you were supposed to help him as his classmate. A true Champion always shares his wisdom and helps others”. Champ realised his mistake and decided to take charge.

Next day, during the activity period wherein all students were supposed to discuss their thoughts and feelings, Champ gave a speech on ‘How to WIN on the INTERNET’. He said, “Internet is a great place to learn, connect and sharpen our skill sets. While it is meant to help ourselves and others, some bad people use it to harm us. While the people with good IQ and EQ are able to easily evade them, some weaklings are drawn to them like a moth to fire. Why do we need validation from outsiders who don’t even know us? If we really want some constructive criticism to improve ourselves, we should take it from people who know us the best like our family, teachers and friends. And competitive spirit is good but what’s the point of competing in mindless games whose winner is the true loser? It is said, our only competition should be with the person we were yesterday. So let us all compete to become stronger, sharper and better.” And true to his name, Champ proved to be an all round champion. He even helped his friends find out how strong and aware they were. Do you also want to test yourself? Carry on.

~ Team SD