Discovering My True Purpose

When COVID-19 arrived, it left me, a primary school teacher with 10 years of experience at the time, in a state of melancholy for nearly two years. Before the pandemic broke out, I used to work with students of all ages and knowing I had done my part to further the children’s development was enough to rest easy at night. But, the pandemic changed everything.?

The lockdown had taken me away from my profession and forced me to contemplate the layers of emptiness I felt during the night times despite the decade of experience I had gained as a teacher. All the years of dedication and hard work should have filled me with some sense of fulfillment at such a difficult time, but it wasn’t enough to keep the emptiness from engulfing my chest every night and it left me wondering why??

A few weeks into the pandemic, I had a breakthrough when I was on a call with my aunt. She was sharing her son’s struggles with not being able to attend school. He was 21 years old and was affected by cerebral palsy, a motor disability that affects the muscle tone, posture, and movement of the body. He attended a special school and was missing it deeply. It was the one thing that gave him a sense of purpose and added meaning to his life.??

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My instincts as a teacher kicked in immediately and I began researching details of his condition on the internet. I was on a quest to help him and it led me to several other challenging conditions that children and adults struggled with such as autism and ADHD. I was aware of special education but had no reason to dive deep into the area until that moment.?

This was a world where there were alternative methods to meet the needs of children with various disabilities, and the tenacity of the approach fascinated me. It called out to the void my years of experience as a teacher had not filled yet. In the next few days, I planned to enroll for a diploma in special education.?

I joined a course and completed it, eager to apply the knowledge I had gained from the course and from my own research. I came across several unique schools and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) that worked with children with special needs. Among them, the organisation I am working for currently stood out.?

The word “Ishanya” means “North-East”, it is the direction that symbolically represents education, knowledge, and prosperity - I came across this information on Ishanya Foundation’s website. It was the first thing that caught my attention, followed by the young, dynamic lady, Swathi Vellal Raghunandan, who was heading the organisation. I was certain about working at Ishanya and immediately applied for a job.?

Ishanya Foundation appointed me as a special educator and entrusted me with the responsibility of teaching children with autism. The children had distinctive viewpoints and the difficulties they encountered quickly grabbed my attention. Helping them acquire new abilities and hone their strengths gave me a profound sense of fulfillment and purpose.

Working with special-needs children at Ishanya has been a life-changing experience. Some children have distinct strengths and challenges that necessitate specialised care and attention. It is challenging at times, as the role of a special educator calls for tolerance, compassion, and in-depth knowledge of these requirements. However, being able to show up and deliver on these requirements every day is what makes my job immensely gratifying. It constantly improves my ability to approach each child with an open mind and drives me to discover new strategies to match their specific needs.?

These opportunities to find solutions keep my job interesting. They test me and keep helping me reach new heights as an educator and have taught me the value of celebrating every milestone, no matter how big or small. Soon, even the smallest successes started to matter and fill me with joy.??

This feeling of contentment and the satisfaction that I felt from working with my students to realise their full potential was the strongest indicator of the fact that this was not just a job I did to keep myself busy anymore, I had found my true calling. I am certain that this is what I want to do with my life. Finding my purpose and knowing that I am working towards leaving a positive impact on the world was what I needed to fill that void and rest easy again.??