After a phone call from my dad asking me based on whom I had written this, I thought I should add a disclaimer.
Disclaimer- The following story is fictional and while it may resemble many of the students I have taught it is inspired by them but not based on any one of them.
"Anushka, you've failed again."
"But I have 68%"
"Sorry but the cut off is 70%. You will have to leave the college."
"No No", she screamed and jumped off the building. Pools of blood were forming around her as she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was a copy of her perfect marks card floating down beside her.
*gasp* She woke up to find herself in a pool of sweat. It was just a nightmare. One that felt unbelievably real. One that could become real one day. How life had changed in 75 days...
75 days ago...
She took a deep breath and sighed. All around her was lush greenery with buildings spaced out between the tall trees and the shrubbery. From her hostel window she could see the morning fog lift off the lake. The lake was within her campus. She could barely believe that she was in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. This is what she had worked towards for the past 4 years. No wait, 6 years.
Ever since she had cleared the All India Level Maths Olympiad in class 7, there were a lot of eyes that followed her journey over the next 3 years as she continued to clear the Olympiad 3 years in a row and rank 1st. She had been working diligently since class 7 to maintain her ranking. The kids in her class who didn't like her termed her as a geek, but it was a label she wore without any thought.
Once she had finished her 10th, naturally she had wanted to focus on The entrance and took up a course that ensured that she spent more time working out problems for the Mains than unnecessary lab work and records for class. What a sheer waste of time it was to be drawing circuits and cells.
She had also been the top of her batch for the pre- entrance foundation all through class 7 to class 10. She thought she had achieved a lot, but her parents wanted more. She had to clear The entrance. Not just clear but rank within the top 100. They did everything they could to help her.
Anushka had not watched television in over 4 years. She had no idea that The Big Bang Theory was a tv program or who this alleged Sheldon Cooper was. The Big Bang Theory that she knew talked about the physics of the expansion of the universe. Her parents ensured that she got some free time, but the free time was only to have meals, not to play basketball or on frivolous activities. What if she got hurt at a crucial time and couldn't take the exam? The entire two years were crucial. Socializing was restricted. No one came home and they never went out except for her 16th birthday. Luckily that had come on a Sunday, so she spent Sunday evening out with her parents.
Life in her house had come to stand still for the 3 months when she had all the entrance exams, and the day she had gotten her ranking, she was relieved. Finally, it was over. She thought she would feel more ecstatic, but she didn’t.
Now she was finally here. The college of her dreams. Well more like the college of her parents dreams. As she sat on her bed and watched her roommate snoring in her sleep, she knew that this had been more of her parents dream, than hers. But she had to fulfill it right? I mean who else would!! They had wanted the best for her. And here she was, at the best institution in India.
An engineering degree from here was her passport to universities abroad and jobs in top notch companies. This was it. Now that she was could finally relax and live life. Or so she thought.
College is hard. Life away from home harder. And after breezing through school, getting into a college that took in only the crème de la crème, life suddenly became the hardest. Not only did they have to manage classes, and lab work. But they had all pretty much become part time housekeepers as well. The room had to be cleaned, you had to ensure that you had clean clothes to wear and no one would serve meals to your room just because you were studying. You had to go to the mess and get your own food or starve. All this along with having to study to maintain a 70% aggregate was starting to take a toll.
The competition was intense, the course was grueling and her classmates unyielding. Everyone wanted to prove that they were the best and the concept of class spirit was unheard of. The pressure was mounting day by day and as it got closer to the first semester exams one could feel the temperatures rising.
Now, 75 days later she had started to doubt her capability. Was she fit to be here? Why had she given up writing and her spot on the basketball team for this? Was this really what she wanted? Maybe she wasn’t good enough to be here. She had never felt so alone in all her 18 years of being a single child. Little did she know that this wasn’t only her story.
krupa
Disclaimer- The following story is fictional and while it may resemble many of the students I have taught it is inspired by them but not based on any one of them.
"Anushka, you've failed again."
"But I have 68%"
"Sorry but the cut off is 70%. You will have to leave the college."
"No No", she screamed and jumped off the building. Pools of blood were forming around her as she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was a copy of her perfect marks card floating down beside her.
*gasp* She woke up to find herself in a pool of sweat. It was just a nightmare. One that felt unbelievably real. One that could become real one day. How life had changed in 75 days...
75 days ago...
She took a deep breath and sighed. All around her was lush greenery with buildings spaced out between the tall trees and the shrubbery. From her hostel window she could see the morning fog lift off the lake. The lake was within her campus. She could barely believe that she was in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. This is what she had worked towards for the past 4 years. No wait, 6 years.
Ever since she had cleared the All India Level Maths Olympiad in class 7, there were a lot of eyes that followed her journey over the next 3 years as she continued to clear the Olympiad 3 years in a row and rank 1st. She had been working diligently since class 7 to maintain her ranking. The kids in her class who didn't like her termed her as a geek, but it was a label she wore without any thought.
Once she had finished her 10th, naturally she had wanted to focus on The entrance and took up a course that ensured that she spent more time working out problems for the Mains than unnecessary lab work and records for class. What a sheer waste of time it was to be drawing circuits and cells.
She had also been the top of her batch for the pre- entrance foundation all through class 7 to class 10. She thought she had achieved a lot, but her parents wanted more. She had to clear The entrance. Not just clear but rank within the top 100. They did everything they could to help her.
Anushka had not watched television in over 4 years. She had no idea that The Big Bang Theory was a tv program or who this alleged Sheldon Cooper was. The Big Bang Theory that she knew talked about the physics of the expansion of the universe. Her parents ensured that she got some free time, but the free time was only to have meals, not to play basketball or on frivolous activities. What if she got hurt at a crucial time and couldn't take the exam? The entire two years were crucial. Socializing was restricted. No one came home and they never went out except for her 16th birthday. Luckily that had come on a Sunday, so she spent Sunday evening out with her parents.
Life in her house had come to stand still for the 3 months when she had all the entrance exams, and the day she had gotten her ranking, she was relieved. Finally, it was over. She thought she would feel more ecstatic, but she didn’t.
Now she was finally here. The college of her dreams. Well more like the college of her parents dreams. As she sat on her bed and watched her roommate snoring in her sleep, she knew that this had been more of her parents dream, than hers. But she had to fulfill it right? I mean who else would!! They had wanted the best for her. And here she was, at the best institution in India.
An engineering degree from here was her passport to universities abroad and jobs in top notch companies. This was it. Now that she was could finally relax and live life. Or so she thought.
College is hard. Life away from home harder. And after breezing through school, getting into a college that took in only the crème de la crème, life suddenly became the hardest. Not only did they have to manage classes, and lab work. But they had all pretty much become part time housekeepers as well. The room had to be cleaned, you had to ensure that you had clean clothes to wear and no one would serve meals to your room just because you were studying. You had to go to the mess and get your own food or starve. All this along with having to study to maintain a 70% aggregate was starting to take a toll.
The competition was intense, the course was grueling and her classmates unyielding. Everyone wanted to prove that they were the best and the concept of class spirit was unheard of. The pressure was mounting day by day and as it got closer to the first semester exams one could feel the temperatures rising.
Now, 75 days later she had started to doubt her capability. Was she fit to be here? Why had she given up writing and her spot on the basketball team for this? Was this really what she wanted? Maybe she wasn’t good enough to be here. She had never felt so alone in all her 18 years of being a single child. Little did she know that this wasn’t only her story.
krupa
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