My schooling was done in a school where openness and novelty weren't treated as virtues. Where it was appreciated to be conventional and grab success like they've been doing for ages. It does work out for the most honestly, considering that my school has created so many successful people and their lives. But for people like me, whom my friends describe as 'Anti', the norm wasn't the way. I wasn't a nerd but I scored more than most of them. I wasn't a backbencher but I got more punished than most of them. I wasn't a sports person but I earned more laurels than most of them. One would think this was a good thing. But mind you, I belonged nowhere and as a result I wasn't really liked very much.
In this chaos of schooling that I remember with a hint of nostalgia and bittersweet affection, was the person I have celebrated the most- A teacher without an inhibition of learning, a stranger in the midst of a well defined system.
She taught me chemistry and made the art lover in me love science just as much. She taught me principles and rewarded the timid soul in me with a reason to carry pride like she always did. She cared about my sports and my English just as much as she cared about what I learnt in her class and when no one could come defend me, she believed in me beyond the lines of a student-teacher dynamic. She understood my emotions just as much as my intellect and believe me when I say, she punished me in ways that wouldn't count as punishments but loaded me with guilt. And if you think I was her favourite, I doubt it honestly! Because her interactions with every single one of her students were as brilliant as they were with me.
I took her every lesson by heart. I still know the molar concept because she was such a brilliant teacher. Those who know me, know that I have a little bit of a problem with authority but I never had any such problem with her because she never forced any authority ever. She was what she was to me, a teacher, a mentor and a guide. Just that simply.
Why am I writing this piece? Because I love her dearly and she is as important in my life as one can assume. But more importantly because she needs to know how she has touched my life so profoundly. If I have managed to establish myself as a writer already, it is because she told me that I was better than my worries and problems at my lowest. If I pulled off an entire college fest without a dime of the finances being questioned, it is because she strengthened my morals back in the day. If I can fearlessly follow what I love today, it is because she told me it is better to do what you like n fail than do what you hate and succeed. So whatever I do here on well, good and amazing, she will have a part in laying down the foundation for me and I am forever entitled to her for that.
I am looking forward to a bright future but before that, I am looking forward to a nice baking class with her this summer. I hope she'll have me again as her student, I hope I can forever be her student!
