ayushi
Hi there! It’s been quite a while since I wrote my first blog. So, here I am. Once again!
In my last blog, I introduced myself by giving you a glimpse into my life. It was like a brief summary of a book. But now, it’s time to read a complete chapter. So, shall we start?
Today, I am going to talk to you about a particular trait of mine that has over the period of time, become an identifier, a kind of reference point for people to address me. It is through this trait that I become a part of people’s long-term memories, stay with them as long as I exist in their mental/physical world.
Just a little note before we begin! Except for the interviews and my personal notes, this is for the first time that I am openly speaking about it. So, I might deviate a bit. I’ll try not to but just stay with me.
When people see my report cards from school, they are awestruck by the numbers. I have been a bright child throughout my academic life. In people’s words, I have always been intelligent and a geek, a kind of person is who is only meant to be with the textbooks.
Well, that’s what people think. In reality, my marks and my personality are not connected. The question then is, who am I?
My boss once asked me a question that I could not answer. He taunted me by saying that he thought I am intelligent because I have had great academic performance.
Till that moment, I didn’t care what people think about me. But this one instance became kind of an eye opener for me. It made me realize the illusion a piece of paper can create in people’s minds. For a long time, I had known that my percentage is not a reflection of my real self. It’s not that I was unhappy or that I hated to study. I loved studying but hated the way subjects were taught at my school. One more thing that I found problematic was how people ignored the overall person I was and only focused on what I did on an exam paper.
In my resumes, I keep my marks at the bottom where they can be ignored. I fear that I will be rejected if people started asking questions from the subjects I studied. I remember the concepts that I could visually see in practice. For instance, the Tyndall Effect or Newton’s Laws of Motion, I was able to experience these concepts and thus, they stayed with me.
In reality, what really defines me is my perseverance. I did not score good marks because I was intelligent but because I persevered to score well. My will to work hard helped me concentrate.
I was a kind of a kid who was not allowed to play outside. All I was allowed to do was to study. I complained but I knew that my freedom has a cost. I persevered to earn it. When kids spent time playing with their friends, celebrating birthdays, I would sit in my room trying to solve questions. Today, I won’t be able to solve those questions again but I would not mind trying and learning the method again.
I developed the habit to work hard and I continue to follow it in the present as well.
During the last week of my school, my best friend asked me not to cry over poor marks in college. After all, college is not like school but it took me some time to realize this fact. When I scored poorly during my first semester, I cried my eyes out.
I had been trying to escape the situations where I was judged on the basis of my marks but when I cried over the marks, I kind of trapped myself in the same stereotype. I decided that I would leave everything behind and only take away my habit to persevere along with me. I had no idea about Literature and I had poor English but I worked hard to be able to write well so that I can apply for internships.
Now, I am not bragging. I am literally an ant who has snatched things from destiny because it was not given to her. I am not gifted. Instead, I am slow witted.
In the series “Playful Kiss”, the female protagonist is called “Noah’s Snail”. The name is given to her because she achieves things because of her hard work. She is an average kid but if she perseveres to achieve a goal, she works hard to do so. In that sense, I identify with her. That’s why, now when people ask me who I am, I often answer “I am Noah’s Snail”.
What I have are my curiosity and my hard work. I don’t succeed all the times. In fact, I fail quite a lot of times. I cry over my failures but I never give up. Why should I? Just because I am not gifted with talents does not mean that I cannot work on acquiring them.
Earlier, I was afraid to identify myself as a hard working person, but over the years, I have realized that if I have got one trait that is visible, it’s better to accept it than to be embarrassed about it.
Today, you met a girl who has got a thousand of questions and perseverance to search their answers. Not every individual is gifted but it by no means restricts them from becoming successful.
Sayonara from a “Noah’s Snail”. Meet you next time. Till then, take care and never give up on your dreams.
