In the silence of the dark sky amidst the twinkling stars, I am grateful and looking forward to everything that this year has to offer. Firstly, I would pray that the year begin for all of us with our near and dear ones. I hope this year we will get to light up the skies on festivals, watch the sun rise, and set alongside our loved ones. Personally, I am looking forward to all the discoveries and inventions that might happen this year.

I am looking forward to all the inspirational stories of people hustling and making it big. Someone who probably struggled with basic access to the system will crack NEET exam, be an IAS officer or whatever he/she aspires to be. I hope that more women shatter the glass ceiling and make way for all those young women who dare to dream. Moreover, we as a race leave behind all our previous achievements and set a new benchmark for greatness and glory. A year where startups rule the world and young minds take over companies like Apple, Reliance and many more.

Apart from all these materialistic gains I dream of a year where people are charitable not for credit but for the sake of the greater good of humanity. Once we set on the path of compassion as a community, Sir Rabindranath Tagore will be pleased as he hoped for having an undivided world where the same stream flows everywhere and everyone gets the same water, and dead habits are just a myth. Our national anthem will be truly honoured if live by these principles in the coming year. I am positive that this year there will be a new awakening of consciousness and people will save the world and bring in peace and unity for everyone, and fulfill Kailash Satyarth dream of a happy and united world.

I wish that this year people learn to love and share. There will be fewer children on the streets suffering on a chilly night and nobody going hungry to bed. This year too, will have its share of hardships but truth will prevail. Much like the moon, there will be patches that are not so beautiful but it will also have its gleaming moonlight that will take the world towards enlightenment.

– Mariyam Mirza, student at Claylab