There was a time when for Indian parents, a child’s academic brilliance was of paramount importance. Creative activities and sports were good as long as they were clubbed under hobbies or extracurricular activities. They were never meant to be pursued as careers. Kids had to work towards becoming doctors, engineers and professionals no matter where their true calling or passions lie. Today, parents are gripped with a fever of making their children all-rounder geniuses sometimes at the risk of burning them out with an overload of activities. Do the children really enjoy the drama or dance class that you have enrolled them in? Are you vicariously living your own dreams through them? Either way, a child and his/her dreams suffer.
Through my writing, I have always endorsed that children be allowed to enjoy their childhood. Let them pursue their passions, and they will figure out what they are good at and what to do with their life. Classmate, a leading stationery brand by ITC has been reaching out to parents with the same message through #Followyourheart campaign. On August 23rd this year, Classmate organized the “Follow your Heart” talk session with an aim to help children and parents hear from achievers who followed their hearts and came up trumps in their chosen calling. Soha Ali Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Terence Lewis and Ravinder Singh shared their experiences and insights in a lively discussion in Mumbai. The session was attended by 3,000 students with over 35,000 students across 14 cities joining through a country wide simulcast. An additional 85,000+ students also participated in this session through Facebook. The teachers and Principals of these schools also participated in this event.
Classmate ‘Follow Your Heart’ highlighted the importance of exploring your true calling – by believing in your unique interests and talents. All the panelists shared their own experiences on how they took decisions during their formative years, which led to changing their paths, often multiple times in the quest to follow their heart. Their inputs were welcomed by the students and teachers alike.
Giveaway
In collaboration with Classmate, I bring to my readers a fun giveaway that is very simple to participate in. Each winner gets goodie bags worth a total of Rs. 500. The image of the goodie bag is shared here. There will be 12 winners chosen randomly by the Classmate team.
All you have to do is:
- Like Classmate Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Classmate
- Upload a lovely picture of you and your child to their Facebook gallery at https://www.facebook.com/Classmate. Let your picture carry the message I will allow my child to #Followyourheart #rachnasays!
- Drop the link of your picture here in the comments to help us track your participation.
That’s all! Simple, isn’t it? The giveaway is open till October 31st. So what are you waiting for? Participate and win lovely stationery goodies! Remember, this giveaway is open to non bloggers as well, so spread the word among your friends. This contest is only open to residents in India. After announcement of winners, your prizes will be dispatched to you by the Classmate team.
Hope you have fun participating and winning!
Rachna says 
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