Curator of Life


"What exactly does a curator do?" My 11-year old kid asked me. 

"He/ she plans an exhibition, decides the theme and what to exhibit, where to place things and how to go about conducting the exhibition, whom to invite etc." I replied. And then I went into the usual self-doubt mode. Whenever my kid asks me a question, I wonder if I know enough to do justice to the answer. What if I end up missing the important facts, and what if she makes an important life decision based on this piece of info! Ask me about the parenting challenges of a tween's mother.   

So we quickly cross-checked with Google and learnt that a curator finds, buys and manages valuable or rare items, learns about its history, chooses the items and decides how to display them. Now, we found the perfect answer, but I'm left with a larger question- 

"Aren't we the curator of our own lives?"

Our life is definitely the most valuable and rarest thing on earth, and we should be the one deciding what we make out of it, and how. But we can make the best out of it only when this realization dawns upon us, the fact that we hold this rarest gem in our hands and that we are the curator ourselves. 

As a curator of our life, we should constantly be looking for the best in ourselves, and choose what we wish to show the world in the most magnificent ways. A good curator should always believe that the best is yet to come, and this will drive one to introspect and find the best version of oneself. 


Each piece of canvas can be viewed as a metaphor for our personality traits, and it is up to each one of us to decide what needs to be honed and what tools will serve us best in our endeavors. A good curator knows what to keep and what to trash, and can add value to an average piece of art by adding context or by placing it where it really matters. He/she will be able to strike a chord with every single visitor because he/she possesses something that will appeal in a unique way to every single visitor and leave a lasting impression in their minds. However, it is extremely important to choose the target audience and collect their constructive criticism to constantly fine-tune, while consciously ignoring the negative feedback from the uninvited audience. 

What are we waiting for then! Let's clear the clutter and set the theme for what we have in hand, and keep exploring and improving till we come out with unique themes for the future. 

Happy Curating!

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