Grandpa , Guide Me !!

 WHEN I WAS YOU 

By Sai Yadav | Tech • Life • Experience • Motivation

Grandfather’s Story to His Grandson  

“My child…. Today, I will tell you my story — not just mine, but the story of life itself. Remember, experiences and memories… they are all we truly are. We are the stories, nothing more, nothing less.

When I look back, I see a thousand reasons to say something, and a thousand reasons not to. Many people I loved… disappeared, like they never existed. And yet, they meant a lot to me. Forgive me if I didn’t show it in the way they needed.

This letter you hold… it has reached you, my grandchild. I taught you how to cook, but the reason why we cook — what we cook for — that lesson life itself will give you.

Years ago, I visited my old school. I searched for a sweet little boy — myself — who knew nothing of reality, responsibilities, or regrets. But childhood was gone. Youth too. All in just a moment. And then I said to myself: now let us live, let us live.

You see, I never had big aims in life. Nothing exciting. I was always simple. But life taught me this: in the end, everything becomes an act of letting go. And what hurts most is when you don’t take a moment to say goodbye.

There were times I wanted to run to someone and pour out my heart. But I couldn’t. I just stood there, watching, thinking how beautiful they looked. Some even let me into their dreams for a while. And I thanked them silently for that.

I must confess, child… I never knew how to make friends. When I did, I didn’t know how to keep them. And those who stayed, life itself found ways to take them away.

The houses where I played as a boy are gone. My school too. But some things still remain — the old post office, and the hospital where I was born, where my parents died, where even my wife left me. We forget things if we have no one to tell them to. That is why I tell you now.

For much of my life, I acted the way others expected. Following patterns, doing things as one ‘ought to.’ But it wasn’t me. It was all fake.

And yet… one day, the world will know. I kept running. Even with my eyes closed, even as an ordinary man — mediocre, average. Walk, stop, smile, work, repeat. I survived somewhere I never truly belonged.

Still, attachments tied me. To people, to places. Even when I wanted to move on, they pulled me back. I once asked your uncle: ‘Why can’t we just go live our dream life?’ He smiled and said, ‘The only problem for everyone is circumstances.’

Life is like that — sometimes you throw your hopes into the deep and just wait. Every house, every window tells a different story. And when no one is there for you… God is. Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

I saw people who died yesterday — they had plans for today. I saw people alive today waiting for tomorrow. Life is just probability. Even my happiest moments brought me to tears.

I spent years chasing dreams, finding friendships, and discovering myself in the way. I realized he — the boy I once admired — is a one . God blessed him with grace, and he created his own world.

Yes, I fell in love. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. My heart ached — not on the left, not on the right — but in the center. Because that’s where the pain was. She said ‘movies,’ I heard ‘soulmate.’

Later I learned isolation is important. You don’t need another person to be happy. To feel alive, sometimes you must go deeper within yourself. Life is your film, your script, your direction.

I didn’t want greatness. I didn’t want to be big. I only wished my heart wouldn’t break. I longed for someone to tell me I was special. Once, my childhood gave me that. But as I grew, it was cut away, killed — my innocence gone. And then, no one told me I was special anymore. My life became ordinary — walk, stop, smile. Mediocre.

So I tell you now: go find that child in you. Don’t lose him.

Remember — never create for an audience. Create for yourself. What you love may not be what others love. But when I loved something, I gave my life to it. Never stand in between. Go all in.

I was always the first to speak after a fight, because I believed ego is smaller than love. And if you can’t do something, don’t promise it. A man survives on hope, but when he loses trust in himself, he loses everything.

I learned that my common sense mattered more than the intelligence of others. Be someone nobody thought you could be. Keep the outside voices away, for they only distract.

Over the years, I gained a decent understanding of my own game — nothing more. But I kept walking, learning, and telling my story.

Because life, my child… is about believing. When you believe something strongly, go for it.

And if anyone ever asks what I would pray to God for, tell them this: He doesn’t need your voice to know your heart.”