From the Chief Editor

A holiday with a difference!

Neel Sachin Shekatkar set a record for being the fastest and the youngest to swim from Elephanta Island to the Gateway of India in Mumbai, covering 14 kms in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds on 5 March 2021. This 12-year-old swimmer achieved another feat this year on 5 April, when he swam 25 kms from Navi Mumbai to the Gateway of India using a backstroke and taking only 5 hours and 32 minutes. He holds the record for the youngest swimmer to do it in the India Book of Records. His father, Mr Shekatkar said, “He was brave enough to overcome all the obstacles as he was determined to do something different.”

It is the smart decisions that you make today that can change your life forever. As you begin your holidays you’ve got to have a firm determination to do something different to make it possible. Is there a way to spend your holidays that will make it truly meaningful and memorable? Can you think of doing something creative, something very different that will help boost your self-confidence, improve productivity, develop talents and chalk out the course your life takes? If you do, then you can anticipate with a smile the great benefit you will enjoy in the future. Attempt to do something you always wanted to do — it may be learning a skill, receiving some guidelines, or visiting a person or a new place.

The story is told of a poor man who once visited his friend who had become ‘king’. The king was happy to meet him and gave him a special pen as a gift. The friend was sad at getting such a small and apparently insignificant gift. Nevertheless, he took the pen and used it to write. Several years later, a wise man happened to see the pen and told him of how special that pen itself was: it had in it a map that would lead him to a very big treasure with which he could live the rest of his life like a king.

Could this holiday be the time when you find the key that can unlock some great treasure in your life which you will always be happy about and grateful for? If your decision and determination is like that of Neel Shekatkar’s, then you could rest assured that your holiday will perhaps determine the destiny of your life.
Let the various articles in this issue of The Teenager Today serve to guide you to make the right decisions in terms of time investment. TTT wishes you a holiday that is enjoyably memorable!

Vincent Carmel is the Chief Editor of The Teenager Today. He brings with him years of experience in working with young people. He was actively involved with the Indore-based Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) for over three years. A great lover of the North East, he was the Director of the North East Social Communications (NESCOM), organising motivational programmes for the youth of the region.

Vincent Carmel

Vincent Carmel is the Chief Editor of The Teenager Today. He brings with him years of experience in working with young people. He was actively involved with the Indore-based Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) for over three years. A great lover of the North East, he was the Director of the North East Social Communications (NESCOM), organising motivational programmes for the youth of the region.