To be or not to be?

Never once in my lifetime, did I ever think of becoming a teacher. Now that I think about it, I guess it was in my blood. My mom is a Professor and so was my granddad. My great great granddad was a school teacher and had his own “thinnai pallikudam”. Still, I hated the thought of becoming a teacher and always saw myself doing research and social work. But God had other plans.

Last year this time, I chanced upon an opportunity to teach at a semi-rural college in Madurai, my hometown. At first I was apprehensive but thought I’ll give it a shot. Turned out, it was the perfect place for me to be at that period of my life.

Being a professor is a huge responsibility. My students were just teenagers on the verge of entering adulthood. When I myself was in the midst of an uncertain lookout to find where I fit in the society, it was a dangerous spot to be in. And honestly every day, I was afraid of messing up and not doing the right thing when I’m with them. The fact that I’d been trusted with educating the next generation was scary and a big responsibility.

Sometimes, it’s hard being a teacher because you care so much for these kids but you also can’t control what their outside lives are like when they go back home. I have heard some heart wrenching stories and I have seen it firsthand and it’s tough! But as a teacher I hoped I could give them a safe and comfortable environment at college where they can have fun while learning some life skills. I am proud of my students and marvel at their amazing potential. Some of them never failed to astound me every day. Their brilliant questions and different perspectives on the subject were straight out of Sci-Fi.

Was I ever a good student myself? Not really ;) Yes, I liked to read for fun and liked learning new things but these kids worked way harder than I ever did in my whole student life. The downsides - though they focused on studying, they studied only for the sake of marks. Blame it on the stupid education system! I really hope I was able to create a passion in them for learning and to approach the world with curious eyes. Anything to keep them going in the right direction.

Most importantly, these kids have changed who I am and who I strive to be. Patience, acceptance, cultural differences, similarities in beliefs, the simplicity of being a kind and generous person, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to grow – What else does one need to be perfect?