365 Writing Prompt: The road less traveled
Pinpoint a moment in your past where you had to make a big decision.Write about that other alternate life that could have unfolded.
When I was in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I saw an ad for a teaching job in Islamabad, Pakistan. I applied for the job,the headmistress of the school came to Dhaka to interview the applicants. There were six of us competing for that one job. I was called in first, the headmistress was a nice lady, she asked me about my experience,where I taught and how I learned to speak Urdu.
I told her I lived in Rawalpindi Pakistan, where my father worked. We left the city after my father passed away.
I was immediately offered the job, though there were other applicants yet to be interviewed. I thought about the distance I’d have to travel from Comilla ,Bangladesh, to Islamabad Pakistan. I asked her if there was a hostel nearby where I could stay.
When the headmistress told me the nearest place to stay was forty miles from the school, I was concerned, I wasn’t sure the distance from the hostel to the school would be convenient for me to travel everyday. I asked my sister, she told me it was a bad idea to take this job.
I declined the job and carried on with my job in the school where I was already employed.
Had I taken that job the alternate life that could have unfolded for me would be frustration for accepting a job so far away from my original home, I’d probably dislike myself for taking a stupid decision. Eventually I know I’d quit the job and come home.
…………………………… 🙂
Dear Ranu,
Thank you for this post. You highlight how, for all of us, decisions we make in life all have pros and cons. Our lives assume a different shape according to our decisions from moment to moment.
All good wishes,
robert
Dear Robert,
You are right, sometimes our decisions may not always be correct, but my decision to decline the job worked well for me.
Thank you Robert.