Chapter 36: Of Verdicts, Survival, and Two-Hour Horizons

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams and have the discipline to survive the grind."

I woke up this morning to a notification that felt like a bell ringing in a quiet room: my Admit Card is finally here.

​I stared at the screen for a long moment, processing the geography of it. The exam center is in a city two hours away—a two-hour drive into the unknown. But there’s a silver lining that made me breathe a sigh of relief: no double shifts this time. It’s a single-session game. One window. One shot. I looked at my reflection and thought, “Okay, this is it. No more safety nets. Just you and the paper.”

​Life, in its typical poetic fashion, decided to throw in a bit of irony. On that same day, the National Lok Adalat is happening in Delhi. While the legal world settles disputes, I’ll be sitting in a hall, settling my own future. It’s a day of verdicts. I whispered to myself, “Let the courts handle the law; I’ll handle my destiny.”

​The last few days have been a blur of 'The Grind.' I’ve been hitting the library daily, diving deep into my skill classes. Truth be told, I often get so exhausted that I crash the moment I get home, missing my scheduled night sessions. But I’ve adapted. I now spend an extra hour at the library every morning to catch up. And honestly? The 15-day extension they gave us on the course feels like a gift from the universe. It’s like the world is saying, “Take your time; learn it right.”

​But it wasn’t all just books today. I had a long, intense chat with my friend. We went down a rabbit hole of 'What Ifs.' What if a war breaks out? What if the power grid goes dark forever? We are always discussing our survival strategies—how we’d navigate a world without technology. It sounds dark, but it’s actually empowering. Knowing how to survive in the world is just as important as knowing how to pass an exam.

​Today, I fought the urge to sleep. I kept myself awake with a movie, and just as I was prepping for the gym, a message popped up from a friend. “You must come see me if you want to visit court,” she said. My heart did a little jump. “I really want to,” I replied. She is transferred back to her city and I am happy to see her back. I told her I want to visit Darjeeling too. let's see what happens. Finger crossed.

​Interestingly, while checking my blog statistics today, I noticed something peculiar—a surge of traffic from Yandex Browser. It’s fascinating to think that somewhere, perhaps in a distant city or a different country, someone is using AI to translate my dreams into their language. It reminded me that even when we feel like we are just ‘studying’ or ‘surviving,’ our voices are traveling further than we realize.

​So, the roadmap is clear:

1. ​Crush the exam.
2. ​Travel and reunite with a friend.
3. ​Keep evolving.

​The tiredness is there, but the excitement is louder. Now, it’s time to trade the ‘Thinker’ for the ‘Doer.’ The gym is calling, and after that, the books are waiting.

​Until next time.

See ya!

"To my readers on Yandex Browser—I see you! Thank you for letting my dreams cross borders."