The teacher who changed my life

Image credit : Jerry Wang (Unsplash) 

No matter how much fun we make of our teachers, we all have our one favourite teacher; a teacher whom we will remember for the rest of our lives. For me, that teacher was our social science teacher in class 6th, her name was Nidhi ma'am. I would be lying if I don’t give her the credit for making me who I am today.⁣

Normally, I am very conservative with my feelings, but the older I get, I become more and more grateful for the people around me. Many of those people have loved and guided me without asking for anything in return.⁣
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My mom had married twice, in her first marriage she gave birth to my elder sister. I was born after the second marriage. My parents got divorced when I was around 5. My sister spent most of her time with my mom’s first family. So, we didn’t spend much time together. My sister loves me like hell, but at that time she wasn’t around me much of the time. So, while growing up, the only person who loved me, and cared about my well being was my mom. Now, my mom is one of the most innocent people you can ever meet, I have heard some people say- ‘she is as innocent as a cow.’ My mom couldn’t study much, as she was the eldest of her siblings, she had to take on many responsibilities at a very younger age. So although she loves me as much as any mother would, she doesn’t understand me much because of the generation gap, and the knowledge gap.⁣
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So in my life, I lacked someone who not only cared about me, but also understood me, and could guide me. Basically, I lacked a father figure. This lack of enough affection, and understanding made me a very naughty kid. I remember throwing things around my home, and making my mother go crazy. Looking back at my childhood, I regret it. My mom had been through enough, and she deserved better. The point is, I had no one to tell me what I should or should not do. No one told me that he/she had my back when I was stumbling. No one was cheering for me when I first learnt how to ride a bicycle, or fly a kite.⁣
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Nidhi ma’am gave me everything I needed without even realising it. I remember that after finishing every chapter, she would ask the whole class to read a paragraph from that chapter, then she would call someone to come in front of the class to speak about that paragraph. As an introverted kid, I rarely participated in the class activities. She knew I was a very silent kid. So one day, she asked me to present a topic in front of the whole class. I first said no, but she insisted. She said I could do it. She said even a few lines would do. so, I did. To her surprise, I presented the whole topic without missing a single word. To be honest I also wasn’t sure that I could do it. On that day, she might have realised that there was a seed in me that needed to be watered, and boy...was she a good gardener! 

Before she came into my life, no teacher had focused on me or cared about me. From that day onwards, she didn’t miss any opportunity to challenge my capabilities. Whenever I performed well, she would be the first and the only person to pat my back. Whenever I failed to perform, she would tell me that she had more expectations from me, but she would never discourage me. Once the most silent kid in the class, was now telling jokes to the whole class. Then came a point where I would go to every possible length to make sure that I don’t disappoint her. I had always been a back-bencher or a middle-bencher. Getting 80% marks in any exams would be a dream come true for me, but in that class I got a freaking 96%. And if I remember correctly, I was on the top three list of the whole freaking school. I still don't know how I pulled that off. Only reason I worked that hard was that, I didn’t want her to think that her efforts were wasted, I wanted her to feel proud. I don’t think she knows how much she has changed my life. For her, it was a normal thing.⁣
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I have never looked back since then. I got many scholarships because of my academic achievements in my further studies. As a poor kid, those scholarships helped me to get into the schools which I wouldn’t have been able to get into otherwise. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if she hadn’t come into my life. Over the course of my study, many teachers have had a great influence on me, and I am thankful to all of them, but there’s a special place in my heart which belongs to her, and her only.⁣
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Thanks ma’am!⁣


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Mitesh Kariya
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