Hello Friends, The other day my attention was caught by these lines from the Echosmith song, ‘Cool Kids’: I wish that I could be like the cool kids, Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in… …I wish that I could be like the cool kids, Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it. Don’t we all want to be like the ‘cool’ kids Popular and confident We would love to be with that ‘in’ crowd, which has the best times, cracks the best jokes and seems to like or follow the best of everything. And yet, isn’t it tough To try to always fit in To be ‘cool’ all the time Perhaps we crack the kind of jokes that no one gets except a few of our closest pals. Perhaps we simply don’t like the latest book or movie or game that is ‘in’ and we would rather spend our time doing something else that we enjoy. So should we let go of what is unique to us just so that we can fit in There might be times when you just want to be you—do the things you want to do, say the things you want to say, regardless of whether anyone thinks of you as ‘odd’ or ‘uncool’. And that’s when you realize that sometimes… it’s just so difficult to be you. It happened to me too. I was perhaps 10 and part of a large gang. Our house used to sit together for recess to plot ideas for the weekly class skit. I should have been happy. They were among the coolest girls in class. And yet, after the first five minutes of ideating they would fall back to chit-chatting about this and that, topics that rarely held my attention. I was getting bored because I couldn’t always connect with what interested them. But I didn’t know how to break away, since I seemed to be the only one who felt that way. It was tough and awkward! and yet easing out of the group worked out for me. I would still plan skits with my housemates but the rest of the break was for me to do my own thing. Not every ‘in’ thing is fun, at least not for everyone. What seems great to me may not seem so to you. And perhaps, it is up to each of us to figure out whether we would rather be happy doing what we like or we just won’t be happy unless we are with the cool kids. Think about it as you start this New Year. There are days and days stretching out before you—holidays and exam days, annual days and sports days, gloomy days and happy days. Here’s hoping you enjoy every single one of them.