When I was young, I thought that friendship is the key to having a great school life. But when I reached grade 9, I realised that I had been influenced by a mere lie my whole life.
Grade 9 was the year I started experiencing the brutal realities of life. Us being hormonal teenagers, we used to change our moods like clothes. On this occasion, I am getting reminded of one of the most spine-chilling incidents. An incident where my friend tried to take her own life. She was influenced by all those usual things — love, not being able to fit in, the influence of technology and whatnot. Luckily, she is still alive due to interference of our virtuous teacher, Ms. Nasheeda. Later I came to know that she had been influenced by her so-called “best friends” to take her own life. Those who I had thought were ‘paragons of virtue’ were trying to poison our minds. We were too naive to understand the reality.
Ms. Nasheeda was a role model for all of us. She was our biology teacher. The way she took classes was just chef’s kiss. She was a very strict teacher. She wanted all of our notebooks to be completed and assignments to be submitted on time. But she loved us dearly.
I had known Ms. Nasheeda since grade 8. I was pretty introverted back then. She helped me understand my potential and made me participate in many competitions.
During one of our exams, I lost many marks in maths. Even my parents were criticizing me. That was the time Nasheeda mam supported me. She gave me a valuable lesson that I still recall to this day:
“Success lies not in being perfect, but in being the best of what you are.”
I got so inspired by her ideology. Whenever I felt down, I remembered that if my teacher could believe in 14 year old me, I can believe in myself.
I started noticing the way she dealt with other students. She dealt with them patiently and with love. Students got motivated and started working hard just because of the impact she left on them.
Nasheeda mam reminds me of this beautiful quote by Helen Keller:
“What we once enjoyed & deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
Ms. Nasheeda’s strict love and timely help has become a part of us. She is not only a good teacher, but also a good role model and the best friend a student can ever have.
Ms. Nasheeda will always be a vivid part of my memories even after my school life.