Alles Gute, Shreya Ma!

My kid sister is flying to Germany in April this year. And I am totally excited about it.

I have known her all her life. She stays in the same building where my parents are in Mumbai and it is just that we have a set of different parents; we treat each other as sisters born to the same parents. She is much younger than me, but she has got a definite vision of what she wants to do in life. 


  
My son calls her Shreya ma (short form for mavshi in Marathi). She dotes on him completely and loves spending time with him. He treats her just like his 3 year old friend and gets all things done from her in his own sweet way. She is techno savvy and she made me aware of many useful apps on the smart phone. She is a music buff and enjoys music in the background just like me. She likes reading and am sure she is waiting to show off her newly acquired Kindle!

She is academically brilliant and has always been a top ranker at school. She chose to do B.Sc. though she had great marks in HSC. German language took her fancy and she started learning it along with her college studies. I was her guide and mentor and her teacher when she sent me essays for correction. She took up M.A in German, which was a little difficult for her at the beginning, but she managed perfectly fine. And now being a top ranker, she has got the opportunity to visit a university in Germany after she completes her post-grad. She always had a dream to come to Germany and I am sure she will make the most of this opportunity. I look at her and think of myself 13 years ago. I was also a recipient of the scholarship and I flew to Germany at the age of 23. I had so many doubts and questions and queries. I managed somehow with the help of a few people who had visited Germany earlier. I gathered info from them about places to visit and got to know about the life and culture there. Internet was not so rampant then and we planned everything by going to the railway stations and all. Online tickets and plans were non-existent for me that time.

But now when my sister is going, everything is available at the touch of the button. We booked her flight online. I will get her insurance online. The places which she must see when she is in Germany are available all the time on internet. She can have a look at the weather before she ventures out. Things have become so easy these days. Visit to Germany is going to open new vision and horizons for her and I am very happy for her. Her hard work has paid off and she is getting a chance to visit her dream country. 

I just want her to relax and chill and take less tension in life. There are many things she might experience when she grows up as an individual, so she should reserve her energies for that and not get tensed for small things. I want her to make proper moves in life and take proper decisions which will affect her and her mother in future. She should take good care of her health and be wise in spending time and money. I always want her to be happy and joyful and make the most of her life.