You would be surprised to know that the biggest inspiration in my life is my washing machine. As a child, I used to stand in-front of it, addicted to the smell of detergents, and stare at it for hours together. Unbelievingly, it was the only place where I escaped from this world, and sunk into deep fantasies. Yes! It's pretty stupid to be staring at a rotating cylindrical drum, but if you pay enough attention; you'd discover that it's a unique world of its own, and reflects your very life, at least for me!
I usually get interrupted by the buzzer which signals completion, and mother sprints at it, as if she was running for a gold medal in the Olympics. I watch, as she takes the clothes out, refills the detergent valve, adds some sweet smelling powder, and puts some more dirty clothes' to wash-again. In-fact, it's the very example of my own life. Like the machine, I did the same mundane things again and again. I ate, drank, took bath, went to prison (school), and did stupid homework, sat through boring classes, and often asked myself "why do I suck in doing these things". One day, while dreaming before the machine, I wondered-"this guy (machine) runs 8 hours/day around the year, yet he cleans every single cloth with equal perfection". All my little childish brain could come up was: "maybe there is something magical in that sweet smelling powder that my mom adds".
As a little 7th grader, I immediately ran to my mother, and asked her, "mom what is that powder and why do you add it"? She replied, "son, it enhances the cleaning process and leaves a long sweet fragrance on the clothes". I stood there, struck by a lightning, as came up with a solution (change this line but retain the essence): maybe I need to add some sweet powder into my life, to make it interesting. I pondered-"what could the sweet powder possibly mean in real life"? It was: interest. I slowly changed myself, completely. I only took those classes I loved, and skipped the rest. The powder also signified one more thing: it was added along with the detergent. I need to spice up my life with a variety of activities other than studies. Hence, I started to seriously practice Tae Kwon Do: the love of my life!
As I grew up, I stopped mundane activities like watching T.V, gossiping with friends, and instead spent more time in doing the activities I loved: physics, community service, inventing gadgets, and experimenting with chemicals, in the back yard. Interestingly, I learnt most of my rotational mechanics concepts from my dear old washing machine. I placed stuff inside it, noted down the weight, and then turned on the machine, watched it spinning, calculated the velocity and derived expressions. Ironically, I owe my Tae Kwon Do black belt to the washing machine, along with my hard work. While most martial artists' take supplements, medicines, and diet to improve their endurance and skills, but I used those practical concepts of rotational motion, I learnt from the machine, to increase my power and speed. I rotated a few times to increase my velocity before landing a punch or a kick.
The washing machine has also taught me many personal qualities. It taught me that, I should fret, when there is a huge load. I could sound my buzzer, and take some time off, but I should never stop or give up. It has also taught me that, how high I may reach, I should always be polite and humble. I realized that I am who I am, and am proud of myself. Like my dear old machine, I have turned and turned, from my world into another, and back again, and have churned out the very best of me.
