Life is a Race

“Life is a race.” Virus said this in 3 Idiots. We all believed him to be wrong since he was portrayed as the main antagonist who challenges the protagonist (the guy we’re rooting for).

But it is a race. Even worse, it’s an extremely unfair one. Some people are lucky enough to start 4 miles ahead with Nike shoes while some run with flip-flops.

Rancho started with Nike shoes and then some. He could afford to say “follow your passion.” It sounds rebellious, inspiring. But Farhan and Raju didn’t have that luxury. For them, passion was a risk their families couldn’t afford. They had bills. A lot of bills.

We like to treat success as a moral equation: dream hard enough, believe enough, and the universe will clap for you. But that’s a comforting lie. Passion is easier to chase when the rent is already paid. The story we tell ourselves about “doing what you love” often skips over the uncomfortable truth that not everyone can afford to start from safety.

In real life, an “all is well” can’t fix a water pipe, or a loan on an air conditioner. Optimism is not the replacement for food, and when people hesitate to take risks, it’s not because they’re cowards, but because their actions come with very real, very dangerous consequences. Rancho had a pillow if he ever fell. Most people don’t.

So no, the lesson isn’t to drop everything and go after your dream, letting everything slip away. The lesson is to understand the context and see that privilege and pressure don’t follow the same rules. Not everyone can afford to follow their heart. Some people have to build a foundation of something their heart doesn't want to go after what it does. And that’s fine.

Life is a race. Not one you can win by running faster, but one you survive by knowing what kind of shoes you’re wearing, and who’s depending on you to finish.