Dear 18-Year-Old Me: It’s Okay to Make Mistakes and Suck at Maths

“You don’t need to know it all!” says Malvika in a quirky poem of a letter.

Enjoy life and make mistakes. (Photo: Harsh Sahini/The Quint)

Dear 18-year-old Malvika,

I have so much to say!!! But this is the shortest and simplest for today. So here I go …

I love you.

I can’t imagine you any other way.

I have your back,

the only one who ever truly will – I'd rather say.

By the way, you are doing just great

with and without your mistakes.

So take what resonates and leave the rest...

Make Mistakes

Please, please, please make more mistakes,

so I get to enjoy a life rich in experience and lighter in baggage.

A baggage of regret is heavy I hear.

As I said,

I have your back.

Now, you don’t have to make mistakes if you are good,

No compulsion and no hard rules.

But never be self-righteous about stuff

and don’t let anyone trick you into it either ...

P.S.: Remember that handsome guy in college? ... It won’t kill you to make eye contact.

Don’t Know it All

Honey, you aren’t meant to know all the answers,

And trust me you never will.

And when you don’t know – let no one laugh at you.

Those who depend on knowing everything and that too in a go – are often afraid of failing or falling, heck, both.

So learn to say ‘I don’t know’ with dignity.

It will be scary and will baffle a lot of people, you see.

But saying ‘I don’t know’ when you really don’t, makes simple sense to me.

P.S.: You are not less worthy if you suck at Math.

Plugging in timeless love and (some) gumption,

From your 2017 version