Keeping the philosophical aspect of the question aside, I will summarize the person I am and the experiences I have had in my life till now.
I was born in 1990 in Kaithal, Haryana (India). A big part of the good things that I have in me is because of my parents.
From my mother, I learned kindness, empathy, treating everyone equally, love, the value of family and relationships, the work needed to maintain relationships, and helping others*.*
From my father, I learned hard work, financial wisdom, dutifulness, perseverance, entrepreneurial spirit, calculated risks, and making decisions others might think foolish. Still, you know they are the right decision and believe in yourself when making them.
And I learned all those things by observing them and seeing how they act. We are not very big on discussing these things. Things like feelings. I am making that better, though, and made some progress on that front.
We are five siblings, and I am the youngest one! I have four nieces and five nephews.
My first school was Indira Gandhi Public School. I attended it until the 10th grade. It was a simple school in a simple city. Friendships were selfless and pure. At least mine were.
I consistently ranked 2nd in my exams, terms, and finals, with few exceptions. I got a trophy at the annual function every year because of that.
All my teachers were good, and I have a lot of respect for them. They have a significant role in making me what I am today.
One of my sisters used to tutor kids at our home. I was one of them.
I still have one close friend from that school. His daughter turned one a couple of months back.
I witnessed romantic relationships for the first time in my life in 10th grade. We had two couples in my class that year. But that was not the case everywhere. My wife is from a convent school in Jaipur, and relationships were a thing from 6th grade there. By 12th grade, some of her friends have had multiple breakups.
Meanwhile, I was doing stuff kids do. At school, I studied, played sports, bought and ate candies and snacks in recess, witnessed bullying, and cussed. I was lucky that nobody bullied me or swore at me.
I had kleptomania. I stole a few pencils and over 50 pens, multiple pieces of some models, all belonging to my classmates. I kept them in an Amway kit and washed them once a month. It used to be an event. I disassembled all the pens, put them in a large tub of water, washed them with soap, dried them with a cloth, reassembled them, and put them back.
I used to wash my cycle thoroughly on Sundays. Putting it upside down and then cleaning the tires and mudguards with a brush. I enjoyed and still enjoy maintaining the things I own.
The things I did and enjoyed every day for a couple of years, and I still remember, are — sitting on the hall floor during summers and having watermelon and then lunch with my family; playing the handy video game (a.k.a. brick game, the one with Tetris, Tank, Brick Breaker, etc.) for the entire afternoon after having lunch; and watching Cartoon Network. Swat Kats, Dexter, Jonny Quest, Captain Planet, Popeye, The Flintstones, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and Ed, Edd n Eddy. And Shaktimaan, of course.
I enjoyed watching and playing cricket. I played cricket with my brother at my home and with my neighbors at my home or neighboring houses. And at school with my schoolmates on Sundays. I was a batsman who used to come at #3 or #4 and take singles, doubles, and rare fours. I played grounded shots, rotating the strike. I was good at playing offside shots. I was a good fielder. I had a jerk in my bowling action, so I could not bowl anywhere except gully cricket. Also, I had a good cricket card collection.