| The March
Phobia |
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The fun and frolic of annual days in schools and colleges will be over by this month end. And the fever of exam will start gripping households. In India, exams are taken seriously by the whole family, the family member who is writing the exam actually goes to the center and the rest of the family stays home with baited breath.
It is time to cut down on partying, get-togethers, entertainment; some households even go to the extent of communicating in whispers so as not to disturb the studying souls. There are families who discourage visitors from town and out of town to ensure total privacy.
And for the protagonists, it is an intensely stressful time. The pressure at home slowly heats up. Day, noon, night, everyone around you talks of only exams. There are sermons, lectures, dire warnings, helpful hints, reminders about the future, the sacrifices made by the family and the expectations in return for that.
The list of expectations from parents, from teachers and your peers is pretty impressive. Your parents want you be to be a blend of Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Sachin Tendulkar, Lucky Ali, V. Anand and Aishwarya Rai all rolled into one. You have to be multifaceted and multitalented, (whatever may be the genes you have inherited). And any shortcoming is a disaster.
That your parents love you is without any doubt. And that they want you to do well in life is also natural. However, the emotion that dominates most is the need to show you off. And if they can’t do that, then the vengeance descends on you.
For the exam-writers, it is a Hobson’s Choice!
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child include: The right to parental affection, love and understanding and the right to develop abilities. However, at the time of crisis, you feel that you are on your own; that except your friends there is nobody to share your mistakes, your problems.
The burden of displaying maturity and understanding seems to fall on your youthful shoulders. It is an unfair load for those shoulders because there are already enough of growing up issues to deal with.
Here is some more unwelcome advice to the studying souls: there is no problem in the world that does not have a solution inherent in it; also there are not too many parties for which you don’t have to pay a bill; and there are not too many life choice around which are fast and easy;
Whatever may be the temptations of surfing, partying, fooling around, romancing, playing, there is no short cut to working for what you want. And, if that is in variance with what your parents wish, then you need to work extra hard to prove that you are serious. In the end, you will win them over.
And if you have not put in the needed hours of work, have the courage to acknowledge that mistake, the guts to put that behind you and the daring to dream for the future.
Because, Life is an adventure worth living!
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