Real Strength

For me, strength meant physical strength. Biceps and triceps were so cool. Healthy ones were the surviving ones. For you know, survival of the fittest! For you know, real strength is through the body.

Zonta was my classmate. He didn't fit in my definition of cool people. Thin, big head and the spectacle on his nose, nothing interested me. For me, he was one of the men who had almost no strength. No equal to people like me. That Richard guy's biceps interested me more than Zonta's thin face. For me, those people with just a layer of skin on their skeletons did not even exist. But there was no real strength in Zonta.

He was a nerd. Topping in the exams, he was a bundle of knowledge. But knowledge doesn't come in handy in difficult times. Real strength comes. What were his arms considered to our biceps? Huh!

But that day changed me. Zonta, Richard, me and three of our female classmates were walking with us. Some gangsters were passing by and started teasing them. Richard asked us to ignore it. But I got angry over his timidness. How can he be insensitive? I challenged them to face me.

They came and we had a fight. They thrashed me badly. While Richard was busy begging their pardon, I saw Zonta doing the right thing. Not even five minutes passed then the police were there. It struck me that why that idea did not strike me.

As for Richard, I understood that his physical strength was just a facade. I appreciated Zonta's act and gradually understood that his was a better and more effective way to deal during that difficult time. True, real strength comes handy in difficult times. Real strength is not always shown through the body but sometimes through the mind too. Knowledge should be combined with strength for a complete man.