ఉపాయం - 392 “Wake Up, Beta!” the humorous and necessary reality check for Indian American youth!
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ఉపాయం - 392

Have you ever wanted to shake a person—not violently, just enough to jiggle their soul a little—because they seem to be sleepwalking through life? Not the midnight-wandering, fridge-opening kind of sleepwalking, but the daylight version where someone nods at everything, follows everyone, and thinks nothing. In the Indian American universe, where identity is already a tricky juggling act, this sleepwalking often turns into a full-time job. And blind following? Well, that deserves its own sitcom. Imagine a teenager standing in the kitchen, staring at the fridge. “Why are you here?” the parent asks. “I don’t know”, the teen replies, blinking. This isn’t hunger. It’s sleepwalking in Wi-Fi form. Or picture the college student who agrees to major in biology, not because she loves cells, but because “everyone else is doing pre-med,” which is basically the North American version of blind following topped with immigrant guilt. If you gently shook them, you might hear loose marbles clanking—not because they’re empty-headed, but because their mind is on autopilot. Indian parents often fantasize, harmlessly, about giving their kids a tiny symbolic slap of reality. A spiritual tap. A motivational thappad. Something to say, “Beta, reboot. Your brain is loading too slowly”. Of course, this is all metaphorical—you are firmly in the land of humor—but you can’t deny the urge. Because sometimes Indian American youth drift around like their internal GPS lost satellite connection. They mimic trends, repeat opinions that aren’t theirs, and join activities their friends chose for them. It’s like watching someone follow Google Maps directions even after it loudly says, “Make a U-turn now,” but they insist on driving into the lake because the icon said straight. Blind following has its comedic highlights. There’s the kid who starts drinking green juice because one influencer said it “aligns the chakras,” even though all it really aligns is their face toward the nearest bathroom. Or the one who declares they are spiritually awakened after reading half of a Rumi quote on Instagram. And then there’s the STEM-major-by-default kid who doesn’t remember choosing chemistry but keeps showing up because the syllabus told them to. But beneath all this humor lies a softer truth: Indian American youth juggle two worlds. They grow up trying to please both—a culture that values tradition and another that worships independence. The result? Sometimes they float, unsure which world to commit to, so they avoid choosing altogether. Sleepwalking becomes easier than confronting the uncomfortable question: “What do I really want?” Blind following becomes safer than risking disappointment. This is where the metaphorical shake becomes priceless. Not to discipline, but to awaken. Not to scold, but to remind them they are alive, conscious, thinking beings capable of charting their own path. A shake that says, “Look around. This is your life. Are you present in it?” A good reality check can be hilarious in the moment but life-changing in the long run. The opposite of sleepwalking is not hyper-productivity. It’s mindfulness. The ability to notice your thoughts, name your feelings, and understand your motives before rushing into decisions. Mindfulness doesn’t mean sitting cross-legged chanting “Om” while your parents hover with SAT prep books. It simply means being awake in your own life. When Indian American youth learn to live mindfully, they experience a quiet kind of freedom. They start questioning things instead of copying them. They pause before following the crowd and ask whether the crowd even knows where it’s going. They notice when they’re drifting, when they’re overwhelmed, when they’re acting out of habit instead of clarity. They stop treating life like a race and start engaging with it like a journey. And in this awareness, they find confidence, identity, and purpose—something no trend or checklist can provide. If sleepwalking is wandering without awareness and blind following is thinking without intention, then mindfulness is the antidote that restores both. It doesn’t require a slap, a shake, or a lecture. Sometimes all it takes is a moment of awakening—the realization that life deserves attention. Decisions deserve ownership. Identity deserves authenticity. So yes, the image of shaking someone awake is humorous. But the deeper message is gentle and necessary: Don’t drift. Don’t copy. Don’t follow just because it’s easy. Live aware. Live awake. Live consciously. Because the world doesn’t need more sleepwalkers. But it could absolutely use more young people who know why they’re awake!

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