No more 'what-ifs'

Life. What is it really? Is it a challenge? An opportunity? A risk, maybe? From the moment a foetus is conceived, a baby is born, goes through its childhood, and teenage years, and finally becomes a complete personality; does it all go according to a plan? And if so, is life a plan? Is it a script that's already written by an unseen force, whatever you may like to call it? Or is it up to that individual to – work on the plot, add a bit of drama, a bit of sanity, even come up with that final ending – basically write out this script?

Who decides how our life turns out, and what our future holds? Though most of us would want to bravely claim that "we" decide, do we... really? When you're young, decisions are made for you. Granted. Whether it's what you wore to kindergarten, whether or not you got to play cricket after school, how long you got to hang on the phone, stay on at a friend's party, or play Mortal Combat...

But who decides after that? Who makes those real life-altering decisions for you? Like whether you should study chemistry, model, become a pilot, join a band or marry the guy or girl you're in love with? Parents, siblings, a best friend, an aunt, your priest, a favourite teacher, Pink Floyd? All, could-be instrumental characters on life's script-writing team for sure! Making a decision could sometimes be one of the hardest things you have to do. And the millions of pros and cons floating in and out of your head, the repercussions and the possible look of horror on a loved one's face... doesn't really help either, does it? So you take the plunge, and hope to God that things will work out. And if they don't, you just do what humans do best – you adjust.

And so thanks to force, love, heart-to-heart chats, lectures, pep talks, peer pressure, the media and whatever else, you can be rest (or restlessly) assured that most of your decisions aren't really, really yours! But then again, that's not an all-bad thing either, is it? Sometimes you just may need that gentle prod in the right direction…

So what makes this life worthwhile? And how do we go about making it just that? Last week I was officially depressed that my life didn't have a meaning. I was surrounded by people who loved me, had a rewarding job to come to in the morning, an education to be satisfied with…but yet, something was missing. Is being "happy" with your life, really enough? We're given the privilege to live life on this earth as a human being, and is that the best we can do?

We, the youth, supposedly hold the future of the world in our hands. Seemingly a daunting task, but maybe doing something to make a difference for someone, somewhere, however radical or mundane, could be our life's contribution. After all, we are everything we are because of the people around us and the experience we've shared with them. Whether it's creating awareness about AIDS, learning Tamil or Sinhalese to understand our fellow Sri Lankans a little better, using theatre to bring a bit of creativity into the life of a traumatised child, or helping a friend overcome an addiction – let's do our part. We owe it to the world, to our country, to our family, and most of all to ourselves. After all, you don't want to go through life and look back and think "what if," do you?