Chapter 1 of 7 - Voila - How I metamorphosed in school and then in college

A middle class couple in late 70s needed to do one thing right – put their ward in an english medium school – my parents did that. What further helped was it wasn’t a fancy school – one where all of us knew that the only way to do well is to get good marks. But some things were unique which moulded me :-

1.      We would bunk classes to write the script of the play that we will perform. If not that, then at least for rehearsal. We were writers, set creators, dress designers, prompters, et al. Imagine a dozen 13 year olds trying to agree on something like theme of the play. #groupdynmics.

2.      Be ashamed of failure to live up to commitment (like being punctual) – very very ashamed. #personalpride. This is my single biggest asset till date.

3.      Our geography teacher introduced us to “open book exam” – learn to find answers as opposed to be prepared by memorizing. #Knowtolearn.

4.      Was the class monitor as well as school captain – learnt to argue with friends for what is right. #professionalvspersonal. Never lost a friend on that.

5.      Was never brilliant in sports – tried but couldn’t. Then learnt to play second fiddle. #allowtolead

6.      Like many, my ICSE results was lower than expected – Dad didn’t say a thing. I wanted to do commerce – he wanted me to pursue science. Again no push – just a discussion on pros and cons. Learnt to take and own my decisions. #mylife

7.      Went to a junior college for 11th & 12th. Made great friends – some for life – as they say “to eternity and beyond”. #supportforlife

8.      Wasn’t clear what to do – everyone was enrolling for CA – followed suit. It was cheap and had good job opportunities. My selection criterion was rudimentary but pointed north – which was important. It’s okay as long as the ultimate direction & intention is right – every t & i was not important. #takechances

9.      In Graduation, came across mates from very different social-economic strata. One incident, a guy was talking about the “hot legs nite” in a disc – any girl wearing a dress above knee was allowed free. We jeered him for showing off that he goes clubbing regularly (we neither had the money nor the girl). He later came to me and said he wasn’t showing off – it was his normal lifestyle. I apologized to him – learnt to differentiate. He was born rich – not his mistake. By the way, he was jolly good in academics also. #alwayscontextualise

10.  Started smoking at 15 and drinking at 17 – shouldn’t have. #safefun

11.  Dad got me a very good SS cricket bat Rs.210 in 1986 – that’s the only sports gear I had. Nothing in my life was as precious. #lessismore.

12.  Was caught with ‘wrong books’ – the juicy kind. Never again…. was I caught. #learnfrommistakes

13.  Didn’t push to learn a lot of things – big mistake. Everything has a time when it should be learnt. #bigmisses

14.  A VERY large part was influence of Dad – but that’s a different story

15.  Means was limited … but never came in the way of celebration. #bigheart

There are a lot more but these played a significant role for me – perhaps some resonates with you especially if you were an average Joe. Drop a comment if you have managed to read upto here – he he!!!

The VIEWS expressed are personal and consequences of them are mine. And 558 words – next time will close at 500.