Lessons Learnt...

 Hello everyone!! 

I'm so happy you're on my blog and you've chose to read this. Well, even though I don't mean to bore any of you, this is going to be a little long, because this is about something that holds a very special place in my heart, it is something that has taught me some very valuable lessons in my life. This is about my journey as a 12th grader.

I'm sure most of you who have been through this phase of class 12, will agree that class 11 in itself brings along a lot of pressure alongside stress and anxiety. Many of us are preparing for boards and competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CLAT and other university specific examinations. However, despite all the pressure, there's a small consolation that we still have class 12 to look forward to (which means some additional time to level-up our preparation and mend our flaws) but with class 12 even that consolation is lost.

 Even though I was pretty much serious about my studies in class 11, the beginning of class 12 wasn't much different for me. As soon as I stepped in class 12, it brought along a realization that I was just a few months away from some of the most important examinations of  my life and thus, I pulled up my socks and started working extremely hard, so much so that I didn't even waste the 15 min gap between two classes. And then came the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. This lockdown, however, brought some blessing in disguise with it, it gave me a lot of time for self-study as there no time was wasted in commuting to school and coaching classes. I did every bit of hard work that I could and things were going moderately well until the half-yearly examinations which came around October 2020. But from October'20 began a phase that I would call a "low phase". I began slipping into severe stress and anxiety which got compounded with certain nutritional deficiencies that I developed. I won't say that I was getting very low scores but I wasn't happy with my performance. My mock tests weren't going well and I got very anxious about what lay ahead. But in everything, one thing remained constant, the way I was working and preparing. I kept telling myself "I'll be patient, I'll see what is in store for me but I won't give up". My anxiety reached peak level during the months of December'20-March'21. I remember telling my ma after the selection exams in December that I won't do well but my ma would just tell ,"You keep preparing and forget about the result." My teachers told me, "You're going in the right direction, you will do well, don't stress so much. Everyone in my family supported me in every possible way. My mother, father, teachers, and everyone else stood by me like a rock. I remember mimi (my aunt) solving all my doubts even while being super busy with her experiments in lab. 

My first glimmer of hope came in April'21 when I cleared the entrance test for a university in Noida in my preferred stream(biotechnology). I had started feeling that probably now everything shall take a turn for better. But alas, mid April, saw the deadly second wave of COVID-19 hitting India. I simply couldn't accept what was happening all around. I remember me and my friend would tell each other everyday that how much we wished that some magic would happen and things would get back to normal. But amidst everything, my efforts and my time-table remained constant, I didn't give up on my dreams and most importantly never on my hard work. I appeared for my VITEEE exam on 28th May, by then the COVID situation was slowly beginning to improve and I could focus better on my preparation. My anxiety and stress levels were also beginning to go down. But a major shocker came on 1st June with the cancellation of CBSE board exams. I ended up crying that day, I had reached my breaking point. Due to many personal reasons, this board exam meant a lot to me and I was taken aback by the cancellation. Within a few days I accepted this too because I knew nothing could be done about it. 

And then came 12th of June, 2021...the moment I woke up in the morning, I got to know that VITEEE results had been declared. Upon checking I saw that I got a decent rank and in so many months since October,2020, I genuinely felt happy and satisfied. I cried again that day, but this time it was "khushi ke aasu" and most importantly, my family and my teachers were happy. Finally, I could see some light on the other end. Then on 3rd August'21, I got my board results...I smiled, I cried and this emotion was resonated by everyone around me. My family had seen my highs and lows and it was as if they had triumphed. Finally, I made it !!

This episode gave me some of my biggest life lessons. It taught me the value of patience and perseverance. Everything that I had sacrificed for the past 2.5 years was returned to me in exponential quantities and I'm thankful to God for everything that he gave me. This experience is something that I would never forget, not until my last breath.

And for anyone who's reading this and who's going through something similar, I have one thing to be said, it's okay to cry, it's okay to be anxious, it's okay to stress...it's your dream, if you won't be anxious, then who would be? Trust God for what he's putting you through, he has something good in store for everyone.