PRASUMA RAWAL, 20
Prasuma Rawal is an undergraduate student, avid storyteller, marketing enthusiast, and a football fanatic from Lalitpur, Nepal. After graduating high school, unlike most of the kids her age, she wanted a better LinkedIn profile. With a CV comprised of a few skills, a lot of enthusiasm, and zero experience, she went to many organizations. Rawa’s first job was as a trainee reporter at Republica and her second at The Himalayan Times. Working for these daily English publications not only enriched her professionally but also helped Rawal discover her rooted passion for storytelling. She was always inspired by the little anecdotes that surrounded her, and journalism was a medium for her to highlight these voices.
Coming from a strict journalism background, where one completely relies on comprehension, facts, figures, and authenticity, Rawal is extremely concerned about the wrong use of any form of media. In this era of digitization, people trust an unregistered popular online platform as much as one in print, or one that produces thoroughly researched work. We fail to realize the impact of any form of media and Rawal champions the utilization of digital platforms to help people acknowledge that each of us matter, our voices matter, and our stories inspire and influence the circle around us.
Rawal has led writing and media awareness workshops at schools to encourage the younger generation to tell their stories. She recognizes the vulnerability and impressionable nature of youth, and she feels a responsibility to empower the young to construct a strong foundation for critical thinking. In Nepalese society, rigid taboos still exist. It is important that even if we cannot change such inherited opinions, we should focus on the younger generation. One step and one child at a time, we can bring a revolution in the next generation. Rawal is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in developmental studies and is the marketing executive of Paaila Technology, Nepal's first robotics company.
Tangled
by Prasuma Rawal
To a person who has been suicidal for a while now, I understand that you do not see any reason for your existence and, knowing that your presence is never going to matter to anyone, you've kept yourself in a web of dimensions where you don't see a way out. You've surrounded yourself by complexities, limited yourself to numbers, and have been hiding from realities. You had one reason to get yourself up from bed every morning, but it has now seemed to fade away. You've heard the sides of people you try to work for every day.
Despite your countless efforts, they've only shattered you to pieces and there's no way that you can pick them up again. For seeing just one spark in their eyes for your achievements, you've crossed boundaries and they've hit you back with them. Five years down the lane you'll only regret what you've done all along. You'll want to desperately go back in time, rewind, and pull those pieces back together. But sadly, you can't. Regardless of everything that has happened, the people you've wasted your time on, the things you've tried to achieve and for a life you woke up to each day, I hope you find hope again. I hope that you'll learn to live again.
May the beliefs and the gratefulness you've shared come back to you. And someday, in another dimension, you'll be able to write a story of your own, pen down the positives in your pages and never have to look back with regrets. Even if you'll put a full stop to your life, I really wish that you may never have to put a full stop to your stories.